Post date: Feb 22, 2011 4:41:57 PM
U.S. stocks fall at the open on investor concern over the revolt in Libya.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 22, 2011) NYSE - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday (February 22) as a revolt in Libya prompted investors to move away from riskier assets, providing a pause after the market's six-month rally.
Global oil prices hit a 2-1/2 year high on concerns the unrest could disrupt supplies from the oil exporting region. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi used tanks, helicopters and warplanes to quell a growing revolt and scoffed at reports he was fleeing after four decades in power.The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, surged 14 percent to 18.73.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 54.15 points, or 0.44 percent, at 12,337.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 9.92 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,333.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 33.19 points, or 1.17 percent, at 2,800.76.
Stocks cut losses slightly after a private sector report showed U.S. consumer confidence rose in February to a three-year high.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 3.7 percent to $53.33 (USD) after the world's largest retailer posted its seventh straight drop in U.S. sales.