Blue chips fell Thursday after drug company Merck & Co. said it was recalling a key drug and oil prices pushed back near $50 a barrel. Merck shares fell 27 percent after the Dow component announced a voluntary withdrawal of arthritis drug Vioxx following indications after a colon cancer trial confirmed long-standing concerns the drug raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. Shares of Pfizer Inc., which sells arthritis drugs that compete with Merck's Vioxx, most notably Celebrex, had jumped 2.4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 72.49 points, or 0.72 percent, at 10,063.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.85 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,112.95. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.61 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,896.55. "Merck is weighing on the market," said Alex Paris, president of Barrington Research. "Then this is the last day of the month and the quarter and there a lot of people who want to get out of their losers to make their portfolio look better. Aside from Merck, people may be nervous ahead of the debate tonight." Investors will be tuned in to a crucial presidential debate this evening, the first of three key debates between U.S. President George W. Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry, which will give voters their first chance to size up the two White House candidates side by side. --More 1815 Local Time 1515 GMT
