U.S. markets post losses

NEW YORK, March 14 (UPI) -- Roiled U.S. markets dipped Monday as investors adjusted positions after the powerful earthquake that struck northeastern Japan three days earlier.

At close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 51.24 points or 0.43 percent to 11,993.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 7.89 or 0.6 percent to 1,296.39. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 14.64 or 0.54 percent to 2,700.97.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was open for its first full day of business since the earthquake Friday and plunged 6.18 percent, losing 633.94 points to 9,620.49.

Rebuilding Japan, the world's third-largest economy, is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars and the estimates may be low since the extent of damage at several nuclear power plants is yet to be determined. Trade to and from Japan is likely to suffer sharp setbacks, as well.

The Bank of Japan said it would pump $183 billion into money markets to ensure the availability of loans for rebuilding. The bank also left its lending rate at zero to 0.1 percent Monday.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 952 stocks advanced and 2,021 declined on a volume of 3.9 billion shares traded.

The 10-year treasury note rose 10/32 to yield 3.365 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3989 from Friday's $1.3903. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 81.64 yen from Friday's 81.89 yen.

In London, the FTSE 100 index in Britain lost 0.92 percent, 53.43, to 5,775.24.