NEW YORK - United States blue chips fell yesterday as car-maker General Motors tumbled after reporting lower sales, while energy stocks rallied in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
GM, the world's largest car-maker, said US sales fell 16 per cent last month, pushing its shares down 3.5 per cent to US$33. Rival Ford Motor fell 2.4 per cent to US$9.73.
But energy companies extended gains as petrol prices at the pump climbed to US$3 a gallon in many areas as a result of the hurricane's devastation. The American Stock Exchange index of integrated oil companies posted its largest one-day percentage increase in more than 2 1/2 years, rising 3.1 per cent.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, rose 3 per cent to US$61.68
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 21.97 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 10,459.63.
- REUTERS
GM, Ford hurt Dow
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