* Egyptian civil unrest prompts selloff in equities
* Investors scramble for protective positions, VIX soars
* S&P 500 hit with biggest 1-day loss since mid-August
* Ford, Amazon sink after results
* Indexes down: Dow 1.4 pct, S&P 1.8 pct, Nasdaq 2.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Stocks suffered their biggest
one-day loss in nearly six months on Friday as anti-government
rioting in Egypt prompted investors to flee to less risky
assets to ride out the turmoil.
Increased instability in the Middle East drove the CBOE
Volatility Index <.VIX>, the stock market's fear gauge, more
than 23 percent higher as investors scrambled for protective
positions.
"The market hates uncertainties, especially geopolitical
ones, and based on how that shapes up throughout the weekend
(in Egypt), next week's trading will be impacted," said Thomas
Nyheim, portfolio manager for Christiana Bank & Trust Co in
Greenville, Delaware.
Trading volume was the highest of the year at 9.97 billion
shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock
Exchange and Nasdaq, compared to last year's estimated daily
average of 8.47 billion shares.
The market drop ended the Dow's eight-week winning streak
and pushed the S&P 500 below its 14-day moving average for the
first time in two months. Disappointing results from Amazon.com
<AMZN.O> and Ford <F.N> further added to the gloom.
Developments in the Middle East could be a trigger for
investors to sell at a time when many expected a correction
after a market rally of about 18 percent since September.
"I think the next two to three weeks, the crisis in Egypt
and potentially across the Middle East, might be an excuse for
a big selloff of 5 to 10 percent," said Keith Wirtz, president
and chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Nasdaq quotations for its main stock indexes suffered an
outage of nearly one hour at the open, causing confusion among
traders. Nasdaq OMX Group <NDAQ.O> blamed a glitch with its
global index data service. For details see []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> ended down 166.13
points, or 1.39 percent, at 11,823.70. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 23.20 points, or 1.79 percent, at
1,276.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> fell 68.39 points,
or 2.48 percent, at 2,686.89.
For the week, the Dow fell 0.4 percent, the S&P lost 0.5
percent and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1 percent.
Amazon.com <AMZN.O> shares slipped 7.2 percent to $171.14,
a day after the online retailer recorded revenue below the
consensus view. [] []
Ford Motor Co <F.N> slumped 13.4 percent to $16.27 after a
steep drop in quarterly profit. Rival automaker General Motors
Co <GM.N> also lost 5.4 percent to $36.60. []
Dow component Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> also fell 3.9 percent
to $27.75 a day after its profit dipped.
In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak sent troops and armored
cars into cities in an attempt to quell street fighting and
mass protests, and medical sources said at least five
protesters had been killed and 870 wounded. []
[]
The VIX's rise to 19.86 was the largest daily percentage
gain since May. U.S. Treasuries prices and the dollar -- assets
considered safe compared to stocks -- rallied.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> rose 4.4 percent to $89.43 a
barrel as the protests in Egypt threatened Middle East
stability. Oil companies with operations in the region were
hit, including Apache Corp <APA.N> and Occidental Petroleum
Corp <OXY.N>.
Apache shares were down 1.3 percent at $144.84 and
Occidental Petroleum fell 3.3 percent to $93.81.
Equities garnered support from data showing the U.S.
economy grew at a 3.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter as
consumer spending accelerated. []
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan, Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama)
