A run of negative economic posts, home and abroad, pushed stock index trends
lower through the trading session yesterday. Prior to opening bell this morning,
stock futures continued to post red. The negative momentum built yesterday that
positioned stocks lower for the last trading session of the week combined with
concerns over a massive earthquake in Japan has investors concerned and sparked
a sell off in Asia. A powerful earthquake that struck Japan tumbled Asian
markets and has added to the volatile events abroad. European and U.S. markets
have taken a hit as investors digest the effects of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake
that hit northern Japan and triggered numerous tsunami warnings. The widespread
weakness overseas has pushed the market lower, and selling pressure has
decreased oil prices to below $100 a barrel. The turn in oil prices as well as
reports posted on the economic calendar appear to have been widely shrugged off
at this point. Retail sales rose 1% in February, falling into line with
economists expectations. Excluding automobile sales, retail sales rose 0.7%,
just above the anticipated 0.6% increase. The preliminary consumer sentiment
survey for March from the University of Michigan and the Commerce Departments
business inventories for January are due out on Friday as well. Approaching mid
day the major market indexes are all in the red. The Dow dropped 32.81 points or
0.27% to 11951.80. The Nasdaq lost 6.45 points or 0.23% to 2694.37. The S&P 500
is hovering just below breakeven with a loss of 0.64 or 0.05% at 1294.47. The
U.S. Treasuries 10-year yield is flat at 3.39%. Oil is down 2.27 to $100.45 a
barrel. The U.S. dollar is down 0.0019 to the Euro at $1.38. Author: Pamela
Frost
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