U.S. stock indexes fell Monday as continued credit fears dampened a strong initial start of the holiday shopping season.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 28.04 points, or 0.22 percent, to 12,962.84 in mid-morning trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 7.72 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,432.98. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 7.72 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,589.40.

U.S. retail sales rose 8.3 percent on Black Friday -- the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving and the traditional first day of the holiday shopping season -- compared with a year ago, ShopperTrak RCT Corp. reported.

But credit fears impelled shoppers to hunt for discounts, pushing sales per individual shopper lower than a year ago, the National Retail Federation said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index on Monday finished up 246.44 points, or 1.66 percent, at 15,135.21.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note added 4/32, yielding 3.989 percent, while the 30-year bond was up 15/32, yielding 4.401 percent.

The U.S. dollar fell to 108.24 yen from 108.32 yen in New York late Friday. The euro was up to $1.4843 from $1.4838.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 26 November 2007   

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