A fresh wave of worries pushed US stocks lower today as invesors dealt with disappointing earnings in the consumer sector, rising oil prices and the possibility of a nuclear weapon test by North Korea.

The world’s largest international multimedia news agency Reuters has announced a decline of almost 11% in revenues in an interim results announcement, including statistics for the Instinet Group.

International media group Reuters saw revenue for the three months to March 31, 2004 fall 10.7% to £598m (€895m).