US stocks edge down after fresh Japan quake

WASHINGTON—US stocks fell sharply on news of a fresh earthquake in Japan Thursday, but managed to pare losses as damage appeared to be limited.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 100 points from the day’s high shortly after a 7.1-magnitude quake near Japan’s east coast prompted fears of further damage to the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, infrastructure and Japan’s manufacturing base.

The area is still recovering from last month’s massive earthquake and tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis.

US shares in Toyota, Nissan, NTT and Sony all fell sharply before recovering somewhat.

The broader market mimicked that recovery.

The Dow index of 30 blue-chip stocks ended the day down 17.26 points (0.14 percent) to reach 12,409.49.

The broader S&P 500 fell 2.03 points (0.15 percent) to 1,333.51 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.68 points (0.13 percent) to 2,796.14.

Among the Dow’s losers, Caterpillar, General Electric and McDonald’s all gave up around one percent of their value.

The US bond market was mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was level at 3.55 percent from late Wednesday, while that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.61 percent from 4.59 percent.

The prices of bonds and their yields move in opposite directions.

The markets had been mixed earlier in the day, after late-night White House talks failed to resolve a budget crisis that could lead to a shutdown of parts of the government.

Traders seemed uneasy as Democrats and Republicans continued to battle over cuts to this year’s federal budget, with a deadline to prevent the shutdown looming at midnight Friday.

Scott Marcouiller of Wells Fargo Advisors said the budget impasse and the much-expected 0.25 percent rate hike by the European Central Bank early Thursday were looming issues.

But “to this point stocks have shrugged off any potential negatives from these events.”