NEW YORK, (Reuters):
STOCKS DECLINED for a fourth session in a row on Monday as worries about a prolonged war in Iraq and a report showing a decline in Midwest manufacturing renewed doubts about the health of the U.S. economy.
Data from the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago showed manufacturing activity in February contracted for the first time in five months.
In war news, Gen. Richard Myers, head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there was no rush to storm Baghdad, as U.S. forces pounded Republican Guard units around the Iraqi capital from the ground and the air.
"You basically have two issues today: one, you have the Iraq war is going to take longer than anticipated, and two, the Chicago PMI
disappointed," said Rich Nash, chief market strategist at Victory Capital Management in Cleveland. "That just puts some more concern out there about the economy."
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 153.64 points, or 1.89 per cent, at 7,992.13, after being down 213 points earlier in
the day, according to the latest figures. Only two stocks
- Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble - advanced among the 30 stocks that make up the blue-chip Dow gauge.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 15.38 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 848.12. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index declined 28.82 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 1,340.78.
