Wall Street stock indexes on Thursday largely
erased gains from the day before amid worries from overseas.
German unemployment increased for a fifth month, economic
sentiment in the crisis-battered eurozone continued to plummet and
investors were anxious about Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's
remarks on Friday at his annual address to central bankers in Jackson
Hole, Wyoming.
Japanese shares declined as market sentiment was hurt by
disappointing data on retail sales and losses on other Asian bourses.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 106.77 points,
or 0.81 per cent, to 13,000.71. The broader Standard & Poor's 500
Index was down 11.01 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,399.48. The
technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 32.47 points, or 1.05
per cent, to 3,048.71.
The US currency rose against the euro to 79.95 euro cents from
79.8 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar dropped against the Japanese
currency to 78.64 yen from 78.72 yen.
