n the US markets, investors courted stocks for three straight days, but by Valentine's Day, they seem to have lost all love. Stocks fell for the first time this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke alluded to the possibility of US nearing a recession, indicating the Fed will likely continue to ease interest rates. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson continued to forecast slow growth. The Fed Chairman stated that financial companies will likely face further write-downs.
Bernanke's comments had a noticeably negative effect on financial stocks. Financial stocks were also under pressure after Swiss banking giant UBS reported a quarterly loss of more than $ 11 billion. JP Morgan and Bear Stearns were amongst the hardest hit in the sector.
The other major losers include tech major Intel. This is after analysts said Intel may be hurt by slower computer sales. The stock dropped for the first time in six days.
In economic news, the labor department reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected, but the four-week moving average rose to its highest level in more than two year
The Dow plunged 175.26 points, or 1.40%, to 12,376.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 18.35 points, or 1.34%, to 1,348.86, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 41.39 points, or 1.74%, to 2,332.54.
A look at how the Indian ADRs performed:
| Name Sterlite Ind | Symbol SLT | Price 41.55 | Change | Change% -1.28% | Volume | High | Low |
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