chip Dow Jones industrial average was 0.9 percent weaker at 10,049.5 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.1 percent to 1,890 points by 1617 GMT. Merck was a drag on U.S. blue chips due to a recall of its Vioxx arthritis drug after a study confirmed long-standing concerns about the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The news wiped about $26 billion off Merck's market value as the stock dove 26 percent to $33.23, and it also weighed on European drug firms. Swiss giant Novartis closed down 1.7 percent at 58.20 Swiss francs, while GlaxoSmithKline gave up early gains and closed 1.5 percent weaker. "The Merck issue is fairly stock-specific, but it doesn't do anything for sentiment," one buyside dealer said. Around Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed 0.4 percent weaker, while Paris's CAC-40 ended down 1.1 percent. In Zurich, the SMI shed 1.2 percent, and Frankfurt's DAX closed 0.7 percent lower. --More 2304 Local Time 2004 GMT
