AIG’s report of loss contributes to Dow’s tumble

NEW YORK – Wall Street ended the week with a big decline as investors grappled with two of the biggest threats to the economy: fallout from turmoil in the credit market and surging energy prices.

All three major indexes suffered losses for the week.

Insurer American International Group Inc. helped send the Dow Jones industrial average down about 120 points after posting a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss that rekindled anxiety about the strained state of the global financial system.

AIG reported it lost $7.81 billion – its second straight quarterly loss – and revealed plans to raise $12.5 billion in the coming months.

The world’s largest insurer, like many of its peers in the financial services sector, has seen its investments in the credit markets plunge in value.

Meanwhile, rising crude oil prices remained a source of worry for investors, as they had much of the week and in recent months.

Oil futures rose above $126 a barrel for the first time, further stoking Wall Street’s concerns about inflation that could curtail consumer spending.

Light, sweet crude rose as high as $126.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at a record $125.96. For the week, oil jumped nearly $10.

Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, said investors retreated primarily because of the AIG news.

“That news came as something of a surprise to some and a wake-up call to most that the financial-service companies are not yet out of the woods.”

But Orlando noted that the market has pulled back this week after a sizable rebound in the last two months and that some investors might be eager to lock in profits while Wall Street irons out some concerns about the financial sector.

“Our view has been that the market, generally speaking, is in pretty good shape with the exception of the financial service companies and the consumer dictionary companies,” he said.

The Dow fell 120.90, or 0.94 percent, to 12,745.88.

Overseas, Japan’s stock market fell 2.06 percent.

Britain’s FTSE index fell 1.05 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.97 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.88 percent.