US STOCKS-Wall St edges lower after Japan quake, data

                                

                                
 * Massive earthquake rocks Japan
                                
 * China inflation accelerates
                                
 * Consumer sentiment below expectations
                                
 * Indexes off: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.4 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to early morning, with University of Michigan data)
                                
 By Chuck Mikolajczak
                                
 NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on
Friday after a massive earthquake hit Japan and a disappointing
reading on consumer sentiment.
                                
 The biggest earthquake on record to strike Japan triggered
a roughly 30-foot tsunami, killing hundreds of people and
sweeping away everything in its path, including houses, ships
and cars. For details, see [ID:nL3E7EB0MF]
                                
 U.S. consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in five
months in early March as gas prices rose, a survey released on
Friday showed. [ID:nN10186886]
                                
 The data ran counter to a report from the Commerce
Department showing retail sales rose 1.0 percent, the largest
gain since October and in line with expectations.
[ID:nCAT005392]
                                
 "The market held together well because of the retail sales
numbers," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh
Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York.
                                
 "But those are not good numbers when you think about the
future of retail sales. This is going to take some of the
upward momentum out of the market."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 42.50
points, or 0.35 percent, to 11,942.11. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> lost 2.64 points, or 0.20 percent, to
1,292.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 9.46 points,
or 0.35 percent, to 2,691.56.
                                
 Among insurers likely to have exposure in Japan, Aflac Inc
<AFL.N> fell 1.5 percent to $54.87 and Berkshire Hathaway Inc
<BRKb.N> lost 0.8 percent to $84.26. The KBW Insurance index
<.KIX> fell 0.8 percent.
                                
 Oil prices fell, with Brent crude futures <LCOc1> down 1.2
percent to $114, and U.S. crude <CLc1> off 2.2 percent at about
$100.
                                
 Japanese stock futures were down 3 percent, but market
players said the slide may not be too deep because major cities
and manufacturing facilities were not affected.
                                
 Chinese inflation topped expectations in February and
looked set to climb further in coming months, adding to
pressure for another dose of monetary tightening.
[ID:nN11250325]
                                
 Investors also watched the Middle East and North Africa as
police flooded the streets of Saudi Arabia's capital looking to
deter a planned day of demonstrations, with small protests
reported in the East. [ID:nLDE72A0BR]
  (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)