US STOCKS-Wall Street drops on impact of Japan disaster

                                

                                
 * Japanese equities slump, European shares steady
                                
 * General Electric falls
                                
 * Nuclear energy, Japan ETFs lose ground
                                
 * Indexes down: S&P 0.3 pct, Dow 0.4 pct, Nasdaq 0.05 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 By Edward Krudy
                                
 NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - Fears about the impact of
Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami dominated trading on
Wall Street on Monday as indexes tracked global equity markets
lower, with volatility expected in the days ahead.
                                
 A second hydrogen explosion rocked a stricken nuclear power
plant in Japan, sending authorities scrambling to avert a
meltdown. For details, see [ID:nL3E7EC0D6]
                                
 "The market is clearly focused on Japan," said Peter Kenny,
managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New
Jersey. "It is the horror of the human toll and secondarily
what it means for global demand," said Kenny.
                                
 The crisis at Japan's nuclear plants created doubts about
the growth prospects of the industry.
                                
 Among companies affected the most were those with exposure
to Japan and the nuclear industry. General Electric Co <GE.N>,
which has combined nuclear ventures with Hitachi Ltd <6501.T>,
fell 2 percent to $19.93.
                                
 Shaw Group Inc <SHAW.N> fell 16 percent to $32.20.
                                
 The Market Vectors uranium and nuclear energy exchange
traded fund <NLR.P> fell more than 17 percent, while the Global
X Uranium ETF <URA.P> fell 17.5 percent.
                                
 Insurers with likely exposure to Japan lost ground. Shares
of U.S. insurer Aflac Inc <AFL.N> fell 2.8 percent to $54,
while AIG <AIG.N> lost 1.2 percent to $36.90.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 36.86
points, or 0.31 percent, at 12,007.54. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.86 points, or 0.37 percent, at
1,299.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 1.46
points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,714.15.
                                
 Japanese stocks fell 6.2 percent as investors expected the
disaster to take an economic toll. Trading in other stock
markets was cautious but steady, although tracking lower in
Europe through the morning.
                                
 Japanese ports handling as much as 7 percent of the
country's industrial output sustained major damage, disrupting
global supply chains and causing billions of dollars in losses,
industry officials said. [ID:nL3E7EE0AL] and [ID:nL3E7EE05V]
                                
 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                
 SPECIAL REPORT-Can Japan find "New Deal"? [ID:nL3E7ED0FC]
                                
 Quake to hit Japan economy, lift debt     [ID:nN12187648]
                                
 Lasting political truce unlikely          [ID:nL3E7EC06R]
                                
 Map of reactors:              http://r.reuters.com/dyf58r
                                
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
                                
 Japanese shares traded in New York also fell. Toyota Motor
Co <7203.T><TM.N>, which said it would suspend production at
all its Japanese car plants, dropped 5.3 percent to $81.14. The
iShares MSCI Japan index exchange traded fund <EWJ.P> fell 6.9
percent.
                                
 The Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index, or
VIX, rose 7.4 percent to 21.56, a sign investors expect
additional volatility in coming days.
                                
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)