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US stocks fell on Thursday, led by a drop in the shares of big drug makers and health-care companies as investors worried about the uncertainty of the legislative agenda of a Democrat-controlled Congress.
A jump of more than 2 percent in crude oil prices and a weaker-than-expected reading in a gauge of consumer sentiment added to the weaker tone. Stocks snapped a three-session string of gains. Tuesday's US elections and The Democrats' big wins prompted concerns about more regulation in health-care and other industries.
For the drug sector, Thursday marked the second day of declines. Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co and health-care products company Johnson & Johnson were the top negative influences on the Dow and among the biggest drags on the S&P 500. Pfizer Inc also weighed heavily on the S&P 500.
"Health care continues to get hurt because the notion of empowering HHS (the US Department of Health and Human Services) to negotiate drug prices is something the Democrats can get at fairly quickly," said Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer for Ryan, Beck & Co, in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 73.24 points, or 0.60 percent, to close at 12,103.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 7.39 points, or 0.53 percent, to finish at 1,378.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.93 points, or 0.37 percent, to end at 2,376.01.
Late Thursday afternoon, Virginia Republican George Allen conceded defeat to Democrat James Webb, giving Democrats a majority in the US Congress for the first time in 12 years.
"Some political play weighed in, but we were looking for a pullback anyway after the pre-election rally," said Marc Pado, US market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, in San Francisco. Shares of Merck fell 3.3 percent, or $1.46, to $42.88, while shares of Pfizer slipped 2.9 percent, or 78 cents, to $25.84 and shares of Johnson & Johnson dropped 2.7 percent, or $1.84, to $66.15, all on the New York Stock Exchange.
Weighing on the Nasdaq were shares of Qualcomm Inc Japan's antitrust watchdog has told Qualcomm's Japanese subsidiary that it may investigate its licensing and chip business practices in Japan, Qualcomm said. Its shares fell 4 percent, or $1.45, to $34.83.
That offset gains in shares of Cisco Systems Inc, a day after the company reported stronger-than-expected profits. Cisco's shares rose 6.4 percent, or $1.61, to $26.71. Crude oil for December delivery rose $1.33 to settle at $61.66 a barrel in New York, following a deeper-than-expected drop in US distillate stockpiles and supply cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
On the economic front, the University of Michigan's preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in November came out at 92.3, down from October's reading of 93.6, raising worries about the spending outlook.
But a narrower-than-expected September trade deficit was viewed positively as economists said it suggested US companies and consumers were spending less on overseas oil.
Trading was heavy on the NYSE, with about 1.86 billion shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 1.61 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.43 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 1.80 billion. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq.

Copyright Reuters, 2006

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