Jun 27

Written by: Peter Mathers
27/06/2008

Stocks plunged in New York last night, with the Dow sliding about 360 points to a 21-month low as oil hit a record and Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs urged investors to sell bank and automaker shares, escalating concern about the outlook for profits. Oil surged above US$140 a barrel in New York trading, compounding fears that soaring inflation will hamper a global economy already on the ropes. Investors found little to lift their spirits amid the barrage of harsh news, and the three major U.S. stock indexes fell 3%. Financial stocks plummeted after Goldman Sachs forecast more write-downs at Citigroup. Technology shares were hammered after weak profit outlooks from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and and software maker Oracle Corp. Disappointing U.S. earnings from Nike further darkened the mood. General Motors' stock sank to its lowest level in 53 years, after Goldman warned that the big U.S. automaker could have to raise capital and cut dividends in a brutal slowdown for the auto industry. In the end, all 30 stocks in the Dow ended lower. (Reuters)

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