US stocks sink

A disappointing assessment of the US economy and news that anthrax has been found on Capitol Hill depressed Wall Street last night.

The 151-point drop in the Dow Jones industrials to 9,232.97 was the biggest slide in the blue chip index since the first week of trading after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The broader market followed a similar path, with the Nasdaq composite index down 75.73, or 4.4%, at 1,646.34 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 20.45 at 1,077.09.

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's warning of a dip in productivity overshadowed a positive report on housing and an announcement that the House of Representatives will close from today to Monday to test for anthrax quashed investors' enthusiasm about positive earnings from IBM and JP Morgan Chase.

Investors channelled their frustration into selling despite better-than-expected profits by IBM and JP Morgan Chase. But the two Dow industrials, which beat earnings expectations by a penny a share, hung on to gains with IBM rising $1.05 to $102.90, and JP Morgan advancing 66 cents to $34.60.

Among Wall Street's losers were companies that posted disappointing earnings.

Data storage company EMC slid $2.24, or nearly 17%, to $11.21 after recording a loss of 12 cents a share, 7 cents wider than analysts had anticipated. Consumer products maker Kimberly-Clark fell $1.33 to $54.25 on profits that were a penny a share shy of expectations.

Adverse to taking any chances, investors also sold off companies slated to report results tomorrow. Microsoft tumbled $2.42 to $56.03, and Sun Microsystems fell 81 cents to $8.80.

Sectors that stand to suffer the most from the terrorist attacks also registered sizable losses. Insurer American International Group declined 72 cents to $85.40.

UAL, the parent of United Airlines, fell $1.79 to $16.85, hurt by word from its chief executive that the carrier would go out of business some time next year if it cannot soon stem losses that have worsened dramatically since September 11.