* S&P falls to six-week low, but long-term growth intact
* Nuclear energy, luxury firms lose ground
* Options activity suggests deeper losses in Aflac
* Indexes down: Dow 0.6 pct, S&P 500 0.8. Nasdaq 0.6 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to afternoon, changes byline)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday
as investors shunned risk after Japan's devastating earthquake
and tsunami, but the U.S. growth story was seen proceeding on
track.
Japanese ports handling about 7 percent of the country's
industrial output sustained major damage and disrupted global
supply chains in the disasters, which analysts estimated could
cost $170 billion. For details, see []
[]
The U.S. benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index came off the
session's bottom after falling to a six-week low. The CBOE
volatility index <.VIX>, known as Wall Street's fear gauge,
jumped 12.6 percent to its highest level since Feb. 23.
But Wall Street stocks have rallied 23 percent since
September, although they faltered in the past two weeks.
"Markets are taking risk off the table and the period of
consolidation we were in has probably been extended for a bit,"
said James Dunigan, who oversees $105 billion as chief
investment officer at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia.
"The Japanese economy will likely take a dip on this, but
it appears the growth path we're on here won't see a
significant detour."
Dunigan added that PNC was unlikely to change its asset
allocation as a result of the quake "unless the disruption to
Japanese GDP is much larger than we currently estimate and
there's also an expansion of the instability in the Middle
East."
Among sectors hurt the most was the nuclear industry after
explosions and damage at a Japanese nuclear plant. In addition,
shares of luxury goods companies worldwide were hit since Japan
accounts for 11 percent of global luxury sales For details see
[] []
General Electric Co <GE.N>, which has combined nuclear
ventures with Hitachi Ltd <6501.T>, dropped 4.1 percent to
$19.53 and was the top percentage decliner on the Dow.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 73.68
points, or 0.61 percent, at 11,970.72. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 10.15 points, or 0.78 percent, at
1,294.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 16.19
points, or 0.60 percent, at 2,699.42.
The Market Vectors uranium and nuclear energy exchange
traded fund <NLR.P> slumped 13 percent while the Global X
Uranium ETF <URA.P> sank 17 percent. Luxury retailer Tiffany
<TIF.N> dropped 4.9 percent to $60.10.
Aflac Inc <AFL.N>, the largest foreign insurer in Japan,
fell 4 percent to $53.35 as experts estimated that the
devastating earthquake in Japan could cost the insurance
industry nearly $35 billion, making it one of the most
expensive diasters ever.
Options activity on Aflac showed some investors are
expecting the stock to plunge more than 8 percent from the
current price to about $49 by April expiration, according to
Caitlin Duffy, options strategist at Interactive Brokers
Group.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SPECIAL REPORT-Can Japan find "New Deal"? []
Quake to hit Japan economy, lift debt []
Lasting political truce unlikely []
Map of reactors: http://r.reuters.com/dyf58r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
U.S.-listed shares of Japanese companies also declined
while the BNY Mellon index of leading Japanese American
Depositary Receipts <.BKJP> lost 6 percent. Toyota Motor Co
<7203.T><TM.N>, which said it would suspend production at all
its Japanese car plants, fell 4.8 percent to $81.50. The
iShares MSCI Japan index exchange traded fund <EWJ.P> sank 7.4
percent.
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth
Barry)
