Markets slump following manufacturing report

Stocks and bonds tumbled early in the day when the National
Association of Purchasing Management reported that its members
were seeing record-high parts and material costs. That is an
inflation indicator.

When the open market committee of the US Federal Reserve meets on
Oct. 5, the report is sure to be a consideration. Investors are already
speculating the Fed will target high stock valuations. The news only
cranked up the volume.

The Dow recovered from a 170-point loss this morning to close at
10,829.28, still down 84.85. The S&P 500 was also down marginally,
by 3.61, to 1320.41. Losers lead winners on the NYSE, by a margin of
16:13. Nasdaq made some gains on specific business deals, closing
26.65 higher, to 2739.34. For example, Sun Microsystems
announced it would become a direct Internet software provider,
challenging Microsoft as a leading software provider. Its shares
were up almost US$2, to $77.45.

But overall, there was a widespread down-swing, and that includes the
TSE, which slid by 70.70, to 6969.00. Just a few subsectors finished
up on the day on the TSE. Precious metals edged up on the movement
of the price of gold. The ME dropped 45.37 to 3,716.29.

The VSE was also inching downward in late afternoon trading by
1.75, to 408.01. The ASE, on the other hand, was posting some small
gains. It was up 3.21 to 2652.53.