NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday as investors reacted to a weak durable-goods report and the assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 192.08 points, or 1.42 percent, to 13,359.61, reversing four consecutive days of gains.The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 21.39 points, or 1.43 percent, to 1,476.27.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 47.62 points, or 1.75 percent, to 2,676.79.

The U.S. Commerce Department said November orders for durable goods, goods like appliances designed to last more than three years, increased a disappointing 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted $214.67 billion. Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose an expected 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 349,000 in the week ended Dec. 22, the Labor Department said.

In Tokyo, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index closed down 88.85 points, or 0.57 percent, to 15,564.69.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 16/32 to yield 4.22 percent and the 30-year bond increased 21/32, yielding 4.637 percent.

The U.S. dollar fell to 114.16 yen from 114.4 yen in New York Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.4566 from $1.4491.

Durable-goods orders rise in November

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Orders for durable goods, products designed to last at least three years, rose 0.1 percent in November, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Economists had forecast a 3 percent rise in durable goods orders, a key measure of business equipment spending. November durable goods orders increased 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted $214.67 billion, largely because of a 1.9 percent increase in durable goods orders in the transportation sector.

Durable goods orders fell in August, September and October.

Demand for non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, rose 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. Orders for new commercial aircraft increased 20.9 percent in November and orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 1.1 percent.

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence rose to 88.6 in December from a revised 87.8 in November as U.S. consumers were slightly less pessimistic about the future of the economy.

The U.S. Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 349,000.

Insurance losses hit $75 billion in 2007

FRANKFURT, Germany, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The insurance industry faced $75 billion in losses despite a lack of "mega-catastrophes" in 2007, German reinsurer Munich Re said Thursday.

There were no Hurricane Katrinas, but there were 950 catastrophic natural disaster events, the most since 1974 when Munich Re began tracking such events, MarketWatch reported.

"The figures confirm our expectations and endorse our insistence that risks be consistently written at adequate prices, despite years with comparatively low losses as in 2006," Munich Re board member Torsten Jeworrek said in a statement.

The insurance industry had $50 billion in losses last year, compared to $550 billion in 2005 when the U.S. Gulf Coast was devastated by two hurricanes.

The worst insurance catastrophes of 2006 were Cyclone Sidr, which killed 3,300 people in Bangladesh, the winter storm that caused $10 billion in damage in Europe and summer flooding in England that caused $8 billion in losses.

"We should not be misled by the absence of 'mega-catastrophes' in 2007," Jeworrek said.

EU dropping quotas on Chinese clothes

BRUSSELS, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The European Union is easing restrictions on Chinese-made clothes at year's end despite warnings of a possible repeat of dumping by China.

The EU is switching from strict import restrictions to a joint monitoring agreement that covers most garments imported from China, the EU Observer reported Thursday.

The joint agreement covers eight to 10 categories of clothing from T-shirts to trousers and bras. The EU, which had a trade deficit of $184 billion with China in 2006, adopted tough import quotas in 2005 to limit the influx of cheaper Chinese-made clothing into Europe.