NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street pulled back Monday after Microsoft Corp.'s
decision to withdraw its bid for Yahoo Inc. and as oil prices rose to a new
record over $120 a barrel.
Microsoft had offered $43.7 billion to buy Yahoo Inc., but scrapped the bid
late Saturday after the software maker and the Internet provider could not agree
on a sale price. The failed deal came as a disappointment to Wall Street, as
merger-and-acquisition activity tends to boost shareholder value, and also
signals to the broader market that corporate America is optimistic about the
future.
A jump in oil prices raised concerns that inflation could force consumers,
who account for more than two-thirds of the economy, to cut their spending on
discretionary items. Crude oil futures for June delivery surged to a new trading
high of $120.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling
back. The jump followed news of an attack on a Nigerian oil facility.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell
88.66, or 0.68 percent, to 12,969.54.
Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell
6.41, or 0.45 percent, to 1,407.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 12.87,
or 0.52 percent, to 2,464.12.
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