US trading affected by Microsoft talks breakdown

18/03/2004 - 15:06:57
In trading this morning, US stocks opened on the downside after the delayed January PPI report showed that wholesale inflation rose more than expected.

Microsoft fell to a four-month low after talks with the European Commission to resolve antitrust claims broke down.

The Dow fell 35 points to 10,265, the Nasdaq Composite shed seven points to 1,970 and the S&P 500 Index lost three points to 1,121.

Microsoft fell 0.8% to $24.93 (€20.23), the first intraday dip below the $25 (€20.28) level since mid-November.

In the market as a whole, decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1,420 to 886 margin on the NYSE and by a 1,555 to 812 score on the Nasdaq exchange.