DPA
New York, April 18 (DPA) Stocks slipped across the board Thursday after Pfizer Inc’s earnings trailed estimates and Merrill Lynch investment bank reported net losses of $1.96 billion. The investment bank said it would cut another 4,000 jobs amidst the most severe US economic downturn in decades.

Stocks fell despite upbeat forecasts at International Business Machines Corp and the first rise in six months of a leading economic index by the private Conference Board in New York.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.22 points or 0.01 percent, to 12,620.49. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.85 points or 0.06 percent, to 1,365.56. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 8.28 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,341.83.

The US currency rose against the euro to 62.89 euro cents from 62.72 euro cents Wednesday. The dollar also climbed against the Japanese currency to 102.43 yen from 101.77 yen Wednesday.
DPA