By Elizabeth Stanton Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks retreated for a second day, led by commodity producers, on concern a worsening global economic slump will reduce demand for oil and metals. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. declined more than 5 percent as crude, copper and gold slid. Coventry Health Care Inc. tumbled 39 percent as the health insurer's earnings were dragged down by bad investments and rising medical costs. SanDisk Corp. sank 30 percent after Samsung Electronics Co. abandoned its takeover bid. European and Asian shares fell, while an index of emerging market stocks slumped 6 percent on concern Argentina may default on its debt. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 39.63, or 4.2 percent, to 915.42 at 10:06 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 389.56, or 4.3 percent, to 8,644.1. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 48.1, or 2.8 percent, 1,648.58. More than twenty stocks dropped for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. ``Everyone's got to lower their expectations,'' Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer of Fifth Third Asset Management, said on Bloomberg Television. ``This year we're looking at operating earnings somewhere in the mid-$90 range for S&P 500 companies. Who knows what next year might be. It might be somewhere in the mid-$70s.'' Benchmark indexes declined as growing concern over the fate of the global economy overshadowed another decrease in money- market rates. The three-month London interbank offered rate for dollars dropped for an eighth straight day to 3.54 percent. Dollar Rally The U.S. dollar traded for less than $1.28 against the euro for the first time since November 2006 and the pound tumbled to a five-year low on speculation European central banks will cut interest rates to bolster their economies. Stocks fell yesterday after companies from Texas Instruments Inc. to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. posted profit and revenue that failed to meet analysts' estimates. At least 139 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report third- quarter earnings this week. Yesterday's drop halted a rebound in the S&P 500 from an almost 5 1/2-year low on Oct. 10. The benchmark index for U.S. equities climbed 9.6 percent from that date through Oct. 20 as borrowing costs declined, the government planned to buy stakes in banks and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke endorsed another economic-stimulus package. Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company, lost $3.61 to $67.89 and helped send the S&P 500 Energy Index to a 6.5 percent tumble. Energy Slump Crude for December delivery declined $3.50, or 4.9 percent, to $68.68 a barrel and touched $68.48, the lowest since June 27, 2007. Prices, which have tumbled 53 percent since reaching a record $147.27 on July 11, are down 21 percent from a year ago. ConocoPhillips slid 5 percent to $51.24 despite reporting third-quarter profit that exceeded the average analyst estimate. Freeport-McMoRan lost 8.3 percent to $30.02 as a gauge of raw-material companies in the S&P 500 sank 5.7 percent. SanDisk tumbled $4.37 to $10.39. South Korea's Samsung withdrew its $26-a-share offer for the world's largest maker of memory cards used in digital cameras, saying losses at the U.S. company may worsen as a glut forces chipmakers to cut prices. Coventry Health slumped $11.19 to $17.30. The health insurer said third-quarter profit fell to 58 cents a share. That's half the average analyst estimate of $1.06, according to a Bloomberg survey. Wachovia, Boeing Wachovia Corp. fell 2.3 percent to $5.95. The bank being acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. posted a third-quarter loss of $23.9 billion on bad mortgages and the housing slump. The adjusted loss of $2.23 a share compared with an estimate for a loss of 2 cents a share in a survey of analysts. Boeing Co., the second-largest maker of commercial airplanes, reported a 38 percent decline in earnings after a strike by machinists shuttered factories and halted deliveries. Net income decreased to $695 million, or 96 cents a share. Analysts had estimated earnings of $1.01 a share. The shares slid $2.22 to $44.18. AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. phone company, slipped $1.29 to $24.44. The company posted a 5.5 percent gain in third-quarter profit after winning wireless subscribers with Apple's iPhone. Apple surged 9.2 percent to $99.93. The company reached a goal of selling 10 million iPhones three months ahead of schedule after customers snapped up 6.89 million last quarter, topping analysts' predictions. Profits retreated 27 percent on average for the 141 companies in the S&P 500 that released results so far, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The group has trailed analysts' earnings estimates by an average of 2.6 percent. Wall Street analysts forecast an 11 percent drop in third- quarter earnings in a Bloomberg survey. That would mark the fifth straight quarter of declining profits. Merck, Yahoo Merck & Co., the third-largest U.S. drugmaker, lost 91 cents to $29.06 after saying third-quarter profit fell 28 percent as doctors shunned its cholesterol pills and the Gardasil cancer vaccine. Profit excluding one-time items beat by a penny the 79-cent average estimate of a dozen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Yahoo! Inc. rose 3.5 percent to $12.49. The Internet company that rejected a takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. said it plans to cut at least 10 percent of its staff after advertising spending slowed. VMware Inc. rallied 12 percent to $20.98. The biggest maker of programs that let computers run multiple operating systems earned 24 cents a share in the third quarter, excluding some items. That topped the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey by 18 percent. EMC Corp., the majority owner of VMware, climbed 8.2 percent to $10.48. To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net

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