MW: U.S. stocks tally losses at the start; Best Buy warns
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Wednesday declined for a third day to fall to new November lows as investors fretted about the ailing financial and auto sectors and Best Buy Co. Inc. lowered its outlook, offering further evidence of weak consumer spending.
"Investors are likely to see new lows in consumer sentiment this week. The outlook for this holiday season is as grim as anytime I can recall. Not even falling gasoline prices is helping sentiment," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 219.99 points to 8,473.97, with all but General Motors Corp. on the decline.
Shares of GM gained 10.3% after plunging to a 65-year low during Tuesday's session.
The remaining 29 blue-chip components posted early losses, with American Express Co. sinking the most, down 8.9%.
The S&P 500 declined 22.62 to 876.33, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 35.75 points to 1,545.15.
The early retreat proved broad-based, with energy, materials and financial shares hit the hardest, and health care slammed the least.
On the New York Stock Exchange, volume topped 239 million, with declining stocks passing those advancing roughly 6 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 111 million shares traded, with decliners overtaking advancers more than 3 to 1.
Hill talk
On Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is readying to update lawmakers on the financial rescue package at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, while Democratic leaders said they'll push legislation to use the $700 billion bailout fund to rescue General Motors and Chrysler.
"Bail GM out, but put restrictions on what they can build. There are electric cars out there that work. We need a plan that maintains jobs and gives us something we want in return. There would be no better 'homeland security' than to stop sending billions to the Middle East," said Pado.
Oil futures continued to slide after closing below the $60-a-barrel mark for the first time since March 2007. Crude for December fell $1.96 to $57.37 a barrel. Read Futures Movers.
The dollar declined against both the yen and the euro. See Currencies.
Shares of Macy's Inc. gained fractionally after the retailer stood by its full-year earnings guidance. Read more.
Best Buy Co. Inc. fell 7% after the consumer electronics retailer cut its fiscal 2009 guidance. See full story.
The Nikkei 225 slipped 1.3% in Tokyo. In London, the FTSE 100 traded 0.7% higher.
U.S. stocks dropped for a second straight day on Tuesday as outlooks from luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. and coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. illustrated softening consumer spending. The Dow industrials fell 176 points, the S&P 500 lost 20 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 35 points.
