Sun, Aug 22, 2004 - Page 10 News List

Oil prices hamper shares

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The commodity may also fall as global economic expansion slows, reducing demand, said Hummer. Lehman's Harris and Abate reduced their estimate for US growth next year to 3.3 percent from 3.7 percent. In Japan, the economy expanded in the second quarter at a 1.7 percent annual rate, down from a 6.6 percent pace in the first quarter.

On Thursday, the government will publish weekly figures on initial jobless claims. The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment is due Friday.

Six companies in the S&P 500 will release quarterly results during the next five days, including H.J. Heinz Co, the world's biggest ketchup maker, and H&R Block Inc, the largest US tax preparer.

Not everyone believes stocks' slide this year are largely because of the rising cost of oil.

"We concede that energy prices are a factor, but we strongly dispute the view that it is the main or dominant issue," wrote Tobias Levkovich, an equity strategist for Citigroup Global Markets Inc in New York.

The most important issue is earnings, he wrote, and stocks may drop further this year because "investors set excessively high hurdles for companies to beat." He predicted the S&P 500 will fall another 6 percent by year-end.

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