NEW YORK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street tallied steep losses Friday after American International Group Inc. reported a worse-than-expected loss for the first quarter and oil prices continued to set record high.
AIG, the world's largest insurer, late Thursday posted a loss of 7.81 billion U.S. dollars, the second straight quarterly loss. The company also said it plans to raise 12.5 billion dollars. The result rekindled investors' doubts over whether the worst of the credit crunch is past.
Meanwhile, crude futures advanced to a wild territory, rising above 126 dollars per barrel for the first time, which weighed on stocks as investors concerned about rising inflation.
Moreover, the U.S. Commerce Department posted the U.S. trade deficit in March declined to 58.2 billion dollars, a decrease of 5.6 percent from February due to lower imports demand. The figure highlighted the slowdown in the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones dropped 114.47 to 12752.31. Broader indexes also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 10.73 to 1,386.95and the Nasdaq fell 9.34 to 2,441.90.
