| Wall St retreats on recession fears
US stocks fell overnight after oil prices and the euro hit new peaks and US economic data fuelled fresh recession concerns about the world's biggest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 65.86 points (0.54 per cent) at 12,200.53 about 3.02am AEDT and the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 11.80 points (0.52 per cent) to 2259.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index dropped 4.44 points (0.33 per cent) to 1326.19. US shares fared better than Asian markets, which plunged following Saturday's Wall Street rout that saw the Dow plunge 2.51 per cent, the Nasdaq 2.58 per cent and the S&P 500 2.71 per cent as bleak news on inflation and consumer spending and corporate worries spooked investors. "Recession and inflation remain top concerns for traders and investors," Al Goldman, chief market strategist at AG Edwards.
Mixed Open Facing New Zealand Shares
New Zealand shares turned modestly lower on Thursday in trading generally described as directionless. On a day that opened with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand doing as expected in leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8.25 percent, the NZSX-50 Index closed lower by 15.6 points at 3,603.8. Trading volume totaled a light NZ$88.1 million. Among the individual stocks of interest, the blue chip issues were generally mixed, with Fletcher Building drifting lower all day to end with a loss of .31 or three percent. Top-traded stock Telecom Corporation of New Zealand losing .02, while Contact Energy posted a gain of .05, Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up .03, F & P Appliances was up a penny and SkyCity Entertainment Group was higher by .02. The takeover saga continues for Auckland International Airport, as the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board announced its share of the facility had risen to 18.1 percent from 15.5 percent one day earlier.
(AFX UK Focus) 2008-03-19 10:35 GMT: Ahead of the Bell: Oil Inventory
WASHINGTON (AP) - Government data released Wednesday is forecast to show that crude-oil inventories rose last week for the second straight period. The Energy Department's forecasting arm, the Energy Information Administration, publishes petroleum inventory data for the week ended March 14 at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Analysts expect oil stockpiles grew last week by 2.1 million barrels, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires. For the week ended March 7, crude-oil inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels, or 2 percent, to 311.6 million barrels, which were 2.8 percent below year-ago levels. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels, or 0.7 percent, to 236 million barrels, which were 11.2 percent above year-ago levels. Analysts expect stockpiles of the motor fuel rose by 300,000 barrels last week.
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