By Lynn Thomasson Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for a second day, led by energy producers and retailers, as oil's decline below $60 a barrel and lower-than-estimated earnings at Starbucks Corp. spurred concern that the economic slump is deepening. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. slumped more than 2 percent as oil declined on forecasts of slower demand growth. Starbucks Corp. slid 2.6 percent after the world's biggest chain of coffee shops predicted slowing sales and backed away from expansion plans. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. told clients to sell shares of Prudential Financial Inc., the second-biggest U.S. life insurer, pushing the stock down 12 percent. ``The profit picture of 2009 is likely to be revised lower,'' said Mike Ryan, head of wealth management research for the Americas at UBS Financial Services Inc. ``We're going to continue to see a stalemate in the equity market and a lot of volatility churning around at these levels.'' The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 2 percent to 900.54 at 9:38 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 163.76 points, or 1.9 percent, to 8,706.78, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.6 percent to 1,591.45. Financials and raw material producers led the S&P 500 to a 39 percent retreat this year as profits for the world's biggest banks slumped and commodities tumbled. Credit Suisse lowered its mid-2009 target for the S&P 500 to 1,050 from 1,200. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 3.3 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 3.5 percent. Profit Erosion The S&P 500 dropped yesterday on a worsening profit outlook for companies, including Goldman Sachs and Google Inc. Third- quarter earnings shrank 17 percent for S&P 500 companies that reported results, according to Bloomberg data. Profits for 2008 will decrease an average 8.5 percent and rise 12 percent next year, based on a survey of analysts' estimates. ``We're going to see a lot of corporate grief,'' said Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and chief executive officer of Kalorama Partners. ``We'll see companies laying off a lot of people and the market reflecting a lack of confidence in a lot of companies' values.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in New York at lthomasson@bloomberg.net.

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