MW: U.S. stocks sharply lower after downbeat data wave
Intel advances after third-quarter report; Bernanke speech to come
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks dropped at the start on Wednesday after data underlined a recession is likely to come or is already under way, dispelling any optimism on better-than-forecast results from the Coca-Cola Co., Intel Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase.
"Retail sales were worse than expected, core PPI was hotter than forecast, and the Empire State Index outcome was fairly ugly," said analysts at Action Economics.
Down nine of the last 10 trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 216.16 points to stand at 9,094.8, with 28 of its 30 components tallying early losses.
The blue-chip index's only gainers all topped expectations in quarterly reports.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase advanced 0.9% after it reported an 85% profit drop -- analysts had forecast a loss -- while Coca-Cola shares gained 6.1% after it increased its profit by 14%.
Intel rose 0.5% after it said its third-quarter profit rose 12% and gave a cautious outlook on the fourth quarter.
Energy, materials and financials shares fell the most, with the sell-off extending across all 10 of the industry groups on the S&P 500 , which was down 31.22 points at 966.79, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 43.34 points to stand at 1,735.67.
The Commerce Department reported retail sales in September fell 1.2%, nearly double what economists expected and an especially troubling number given consumer spending drives two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Read more.
Separately, the Labor Department reported a second consecutive monthly decline in U.S. producer prices, while the core rate, which excludes food and energy, climbed. Read Economic Report.
Other early data for September showed measure of manufacturing activity in the New York region falling.
Still to come is a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said late Tuesday that the U.S. economy appears to be in recession.
The dollar fell vs. the Japanese yen, down 0.9% to 101.20 yen while oil futures fell over $3 a barrel.
U.S. stocks closed another volatile session on Tuesday in mild retreat as the U.S. banking system was partially nationalized, with the technology sector fronting the declines.
Overseas, the FTSE 100 fell sharply in London, dropping 5% as mining giant Rio Tinto said it slow its capital spending plans.
Asia stocks were generally lower, with the Hang Seng losing over 5%, but the Nikkei 225 ended 1.1% higher in Tokyo.
