Financial sector falls 2% in selloff

Financial sector falls 2% in selloff

 

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. financial sector dropped about 2% Tuesday as global markets sold off on worries Japan is facing a major nuclear disaster and lingering unrest in the Middle East.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund /quotes/comstock/13*!xlf/quotes/nls/xlf (XLF 16.11, -0.28, -1.71%) was down 1.9% in midday trading after its nearly 1% drop the previous session.

Radiation levels were above normal in the Tokyo area as all eyes focused on the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the massive earthquake and tsunami. See related story on the crippled facility.

Aflac Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!afl/quotes/nls/afl (AFL 49.49, -4.41, -8.18%) was the biggest percentage decliner among S&P 500 Index /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,275, -21.03, -1.62%) components with an 8% loss in recent trading. Elsewhere in the insurance sector, shares of MetLife Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!met/quotes/nls/met (MET 42.72, -2.02, -4.52%) , Prudential Financial Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!pru/quotes/nls/pru (PRU 58.93, -2.33, -3.80%) and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hig/quotes/nls/hig (HIG 25.41, -1.41, -5.26%) were all down at least 3%.

Aflac shares were suffering further declines Tuesday following a 3% setback the previous session -- the company is the largest seller of cancer insurance in Japan. See previous story on Aflac’s exposure to the Japan disaster.

Later in Tuesday’s session, investors will be looking for the latest Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the economy. Read more about the Fed meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,805, -187.70, -1.57%) was down nearly 200 points in recent trading, off its lows, with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!jpm/quotes/nls/jpm (JPM 44.43, -0.87, -1.93%) seeing the biggest loss for financial components. J.P. Morgan shares declined 2.1%, Bank of America Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bac/quotes/nls/bac (BAC 13.93, -0.30, -2.11%) slipped 2%, American Express Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!axp/quotes/nls/axp (AXP 43.51, -0.40, -0.91%) fell 0.5% and Travelers Cos. /quotes/comstock/13*!trv/quotes/nls/trv (TRV 58.53, -0.34, -0.57%) slid 0.8%

Posted by Nikkei 225 at 10:04
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