NEW YORK: US shares slumped at the open on Thursday as a series of bleak corporate profit forecasts hurt sentiment and the Federal Reserve's economic outlook failed to inspire buyers.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 108.45 points (0.92 per cent) to 11,703.38 in the first exchanges.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 38.74 points (1.61 per cent) to 2,362.52 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 14.33 points (1.08 per cent) to 1,307.64.
"Sluggish outlooks and new fears of write-downs are putting heavy pressure on stocks in early trading," analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. said.
"Goldman Sachs cut its view on Citigroup and lowered its outlook on US brokers, while Research in Motion issued a soft profit forecast, Oracle was cautious looking forward, and Nike experienced flat US orders."
Meanwhile the Federal Reserve, which made no change in interest rates but signaled growing concern on inflation Wednesday, failed to lift the market.
Analysts said the dollar fell after the Federal Open Market Committee stopped short of any pledge to hike interest rates soon.
The Fed "left rates unchanged and left a bad taste in the dollar bulls' mouths that all their talk on inflation and the buck was just that," said Andrew Busch at BMO Capital Markets.
Source: ET
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