dow industrial stocks decline in europe

Are we all set for another fall on the ASX tomorrow, maybe the 20 points up today will be wiped out tomorrow, then back to 170 points down


Dow Industrial Stocks Decline in Europe; J&J and Biogen Drop
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks fell in Europe, paced by Johnson & Johnson, the world's largest maker of medical devices. The U.S. government issued a subpoena to the company's DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. unit.

Biogen Idec Inc. slid after it said yesterday that a third patient developed a disorder linked to the company's suspended Tysabri drug.

The Johnson & Johnson probe is ``an ongoing part of the problems in the health-care industry,'' said Nick Skiming, a fund manager at Ashburton Ltd. In Jersey, Channel Islands, who oversees about $1.5 billion, including shares of Bausch & Lomb Inc. ``Investors are seizing upon any bad news as a reason to sell the stocks. I'm sure we'll see further bad news in the sector.''

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures expiring in June fell 8 to 10,550 as of 10:21 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures dropped 1.1 to 1,184.3, and Nasdaq-100 Index futures dropped 1 to 1,498. About four Dow stocks declined in European trading for each one that rose.

U.S. stocks had their biggest and broadest rally of the year yesterday as oil prices fell. The S&P 500 is still headed for a 1.8 percent drop this month and a 2.5 percent slide this quarter, while the Dow average has lost 2.1 percent in March and 2.3 percent for the quarter.

Johnson & Johnson slid 1.7 percent to $66.91. The company's DePuy Orthopaedics unit, along with Stryker Corp. and Biomet Inc., said they received subpoenas in a U.S. probe of contracts with surgeons using the companies' artificial knees and hips. Shares of Stryker fell 3.2 percent to $47.43.

Separately, Akzo Nobel NV, the largest Dutch drugmaker, ended an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to sell the anti-psychotic treatment Risperdal in Europe and parts of South America because Akzo is working on competing drugs with Pfizer Inc.

Biogen, Jobless Claims

Biogen Idec, the No. 3 U.S. biotechnology company, dropped 10.4 percent to $38.35. Ireland's Elan Corp., Biogen's partner in developing Tysabri, plunged 47 percent in Dublin trading.

Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, fell 10 cents to $26.29. Merck & Co. fell $0.22 to $32.44.

The Labor Department releases a report on unemployment at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits probably fell last week, a second straight decline, as companies added workers. Initial applications most likely dropped to 320,000 from 324,000, according to the median forecast of 36 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

American International Group Inc. shares were mixed in European trading, rising in Germany and falling in Switzerland. AIG had its AAA credit rating cut by Standard & Poor's late yesterday after the company said it engaged in false accounting.

AIG Shares

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. today cut their 2005 and 2006 earnings-per-share estimates on AIG by 6.1 percent and 5.9 percent respectively.

AIG fell 69 cents to $56.47 in Switzerland and added 35 cents to $57.51 in Germany. Its shares dropped 1.8 percent in U.S. trading yesterday.

Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, dropped 0.2 percent to $24.11. The Free Software Foundation Europe said the company should be made to comply with a European Commission order that it licenses sensitive information on the Windows operating system to competitors, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Western Digital

Western Digital Corp., whose disk drives are used in Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox video-game console, rose 13 percent to $12.63. The company boosted its third-quarter profit forecast and said sales will reach the high end of its estimates as prices improved.

Forest Laboratories Inc. shares may move. The company said U.S. regulators rejected an application for a new use of its Lexapro antidepressant. The FDA questioned the reliability of data from one of the two required trials, Forest said.

Party City Corp., the biggest U.S. party-supplies seller, may be active after saying it's been approached by ``more than one entity'' about a merger. Party City also said Chief Executive Officer Nancy Pedot resigned.

Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, may be active after flight attendants rejected a tentative agreement on pay and benefit cuts. The proposal, aimed at saving jobs, has been accepted by the airline's pilots, dispatchers and mechanics to protect jobs.

None of the three traded in Europe.

Personal Spending

U.S. personal spending probably rose in February, the eighth month without a decline, as job growth helped propel sales. The Commerce Department may report a 0.5 percent rise in purchases, according to the median of 67 estimates in a survey by Bloomberg. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.

The S&P 500 yesterday advanced 16.05, or 1.4 percent, to 1181.41 yesterday. The Dow average rose 135.23, or 1.3 percent, to 10,540.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 31.79, or 1.6 percent, to 2005.67.

Asian stocks rose today after yesterday's rally in U.S. shares boosted optimism about global economic growth. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 stocks, rose 1.1 percent to 99.84.