NEW YORK: US stocks fell Monday as the corporate outlook was clouded ahead of earnings and uncertainty continued to creep from abroad, while volume hit its lowest level of the year. A warning from hotel operator Marriott International hurt hotel and other consumer shares, amid expectations of other negative corporate earnings pre-announcements. “Corporations now have several excuses that seem to resonate on Wall Street, from bad weather in January to the Middle East to the Japanese earthquake impacting the supply chain or sentiment,” said Adam Parker, chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, in a client note. Stocks spent most of the day in positive territory, with the S&P 500 hitting a session high near 1,320 for a second straight session, driven by strength in the telecommunications sector and consumer spending data. Japan's natural disasters and nuclear crisis along with civil unrest in the Middle East and Libya have increased market volatility in recent weeks. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.71 points, or 0.19 percent, to 12,197.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,310.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.38 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,730.68. The S&P 500 has a good chance of making a new 2011 high over the next month or two, according to the Instinet client note. The S&P telecom index rose 1.4 percent after a brokerage upgraded a number of companies, including Dow components AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc. About 5.9 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq - the lowest volume in 2011. Last Tuesday's 6.54 billion was the lowest until Monday. European stock markets closed narrowly mixed Monday, consolidating sharp gains made last week as hopes for a strong economic recovery offset a litany of bad news from Japan and the Middle East. Dealers said investors were looking ahead to US data, including the key jobs report due Friday, which many expect to confirm that the world's largest economy is recovering more strongly. The markets have had to cope with concerns over how Japan can rebuild from its worst ever earthquake and nuclear crisis while unrest in the Middle East continues to keep pressure on rising oil prices, stoking inflation fears. In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares up a marginal 0.06 percent at 5,904.49 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 edged up 0.12 percent to 3,976.95 points while in Frankfurt the DAX slipped 0.11 percent to 6,938.63 points. Other European markets posted a similar mix of modest gains and losses. Dealers said the markets appear focused on the economic data and not the bad news backdrop of Japan, the Middle East and eurozone debt problems. Tokyo fell 0.60 percent, Hong Kong was down 0.39 percent and Sydney shed 0.19 percent but Shanghai added 0.21 percent.
