Wall St Sinks as Oil Surges
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wall St Sinks as Oil Surges*
From correspondents in New York
May 24, 2008 08:10am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
US shares tumbled overnight as a new rise in crude oil futures dampened
sentiment and investors refrained from taking new positions ahead of a
three-day holiday weekend.
Data showing a further decline in US home sales and a rising glut of
unsold properties also kept traders cautious.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 144.20 points (1.14 per cent) to
12,481.42.
The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite dropped 19.91 points (0.81 per cent)
to 2444.67, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 18.28 points (1.31
per cent) to a preliminary close of 1376.07.
With traders looking ahead to the three-day Memorial Day weekend,
sentiment took a hit from a fresh jump in crude futures, up $US1.38 to
close at $US132.19 a barrel in New York.
"Rising energy costs and inflation worries weighed on enthusiasm ahead
of the long holiday weekend," said Al Goldman, market strategist at
Wachovia Securities.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales
in April slowed one per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
4.89 million units from an upwardly revised pace of 4.94 million in March.
The pace was slightly stronger than expected. But the median sales price
plunged eight per cent from a year ago and inventories of homes for sale
rose 10.5 per cent to 4.55 million units, an 11.2-month supply at the
current sales pace.
"While (the sales report) implies some stability in demand, the
headwinds of tighter lending standards, falling employment and falling
net worth suggest that a recovery in home sales in 2008 remains remote,"
said Gary Bigg, economist at Bank of America.