US stocks decline on eurozone jitters

NEW YORK: Investors unimpressed by positive earnings surprises sold down US stocks Wednesday, with some nervousness over the eurozone clouding sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 82.79 points (0.63 per cent) to finish the session at 13,032.75.

The broader S&P 500 lost 5.64 (0.41 per cent) to 1,385.14, while the Nasdaq dropped 11.37 (0.37 per cent) to 3,031.45.

"Earnings reports, although generally better than expected, have failed to stimulate broad demand for many stocks," said Briefing.com, referring in part to first-quarter reports by IBM and Intel, both members of the 30-stock Dow.

IBM's first-quarter earnings topped estimates with a 7.1 per cent profit rise, but the share price dived 3.5 per cent as traders focused on a disappointing revenues figure.

Chip-maker Intel slid 1.8 per cent as its profits dropped 13 per cent while expenses rose.

Berkshire Hathaway's B shares fell 1.3 per cent after founder and chief, investment guru Warren Buffett, reported that he would take treatment for prostate cancer but would hold onto his duties running the company.

Apple, whose 5.1 per cent jump Tuesday drove the Nasdaq's 1.82 per cent surge, slipped 0.2 per cent.

In other corporate news, two drug plan managers SXC Health Solutions Corp. and Catalyst Health Solutions said they had agreed a US$4.4 billion cash-and-stock deal. SXC shares jumped 11.3 per cent and Catalyst soared 34.1 per cent.

News Corp. shares lost 0.6 per cent after it announced it would suspend the voting power of foreign shareholders by half to meet US television station ownership limits. -- AFP