NEW YORK — Concerns over the economic impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, led to a broad sell-off in the stock market Monday.
Nine of the 10 sectors that make up the Standard and Poor’s 500 index lost ground. Utilities companies fell 1.4 percent, the most of any group, as explosions at Japanese nuclear reactors in the wake of the disaster dimmed prospects for the nuclear energy industry. And the losses in Tokyo continued today.
The S&P, the basis for most U.S. mutual funds, fell 7.89 points Monday, 0.6 percent, to 1,296.39.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 51.24, 0.4 percent, to 11,993.16. The Nasdaq composite dipped 14.64, 0.5 percent, to 2,700.97.
“Everything is linked now,” said David Katz, senior portfolio strategist at Weiser Capital Management. “There is no such thing as a catastrophe happening in any major country and it not affecting the global economy.”
Japan’s central bank pumped a record $184 billion into money-market accounts to encourage bank lending. Financial analysts said the move could put pressure on Japan to raise interest rates, particularly since the country is saddled with massive debt that, at 200 percent of gross domestic product, is the biggest among developed nations.
“The fiscal position is deteriorating in Japan,” said Channing Smith, managing director of equity strategies at Capital Advisors. “If we get higher interest rates, that is a major threat to . . . the global recovery.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 6.2 percent Monday, and shares continued to tumble today. The broader Topix declined 12 percent, its worst intraday loss since the 1987 stock market crash and is set for the worst two-day performance in almost 24 years in Tokyo trading. The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell another 11 percent to 8,529.67, its lowest since April 2009.
