Stocks fall on disappointing earnings and emerging-markets woes; worst January since 2010

1/31/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wall-Street-540

    Trader Christopher Fuchs, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. Stocks fell sharply in early trading Friday, as investors fretted over disappointing earnings from companies like Amazon.com and more trouble in overseas markets. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are ending sharply lower after disappointing results from online retailer Amazon.com and more trouble in overseas markets.

    The declines are capping a tough month for the U.S. stock market, which had its worst January in four years.

    The Dow Jones industrial average fell 149.76 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 15,698.85 today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 11.60 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,782.59 The Nasdaq dropped 19.25 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,103.88.

    Amazon.com fell $44.32, or 11 percent, to $358.69. Its results fell below what Wall Street was expecting.

    Earlier, investors were unnerved by lower-than-expected inflation in the eurozone, which showed the recovery is still weak there.

    Currencies for several emerging-market countries also fell against the dollar.