Rising Prices Put Damper On Market
Stocks skidded Monday as investors, concerned about rising prices and the threat of inflation, took profits after last week's three- day rally. Volatility in pharmaceutical stocks and an analyst downgrade of General Motors also pressured the market.</br></br>Fresh worries about inflation arose after the Commerce Department's latest reading on consumer income and spending. Personal income fell less than expected in January, but spending was flat and core consumer prices rose 0.3 percent -- the fastest rate in more than three years.</br></br>"When you have the [Standard & Poor's 500-stock index] up three days in a row like we had last week, you'll definitely see some money coming off the table," said Neil Massa, equity trader at John Hancock Funds. "It's a broad sell-off here, not just one sector, and the money's not being put to use anywhere. So I think folks are just waiting for later in the week."</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.37, or 0.7 percent, to 10,766.23. The S&P 500 declined 7.77, or 0.6 percent, to 1203.60, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 13.68, or 0.7 percent, to 2051.72.</br></br>Despite persistent inflation fears and rising oil prices, stocks were mostly higher for the month, with only the Nasdaq -- home to technology and smaller biotech companies -- lagging slightly. Strong earnings and decent economic data helped the Dow industrials and other large-cap stocks to post gains after a disappointing January. For the month, the Dow was up 2.63 percent and the S&P 500 gained 1.89 percent, while the Nasdaq lost 0.52 percent.