U.S. Stocks Off At The Start As Auto Rescue Derails
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks slid at Friday's start after plans for a rescue of the auto industry fell apart in the Senate, intensifying worries that additional layoffs would deepen the recession.
"Expect a nasty open on stocks today as selling pressure should be heavy. But do expect the White House to back the auto industry," said Tom DiGaloma, head of U.S. Treasury trading at Jefferies & Co.
The last-minute collapse of the rescue sent shares in car makers tumbling, with General Motors Corp. off 16% and Ford Motor Co. down more than 7.2%. .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 139.15 points to 8,425.94, with 29 of its 30 components down early on.
The S&P 500 fell 15.12 points to 858.57, with all 10 of its sectors posting early declines, with energy, financials and consumer discretionary shares the hardest hit.
The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite declined 16.66 points to 1,491.22.
Early economic data also weighed on equities, with the government reporting a 1.8% drop in retail sales in November. .
Separately, the Labor Department said U.S. whole prices also declined sharply last month. .
U.S. stocks finished deep in negative territory on Thursday as fears over the future of the bailout plan mounted and amid renewed concerns over the health of financial firms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 196 points, the S&P 500 lost 25 points and the Nasdaq Composite lost 57 points.
Bank of America Corp. late Thursday said it would cut as many as 35,000 jobs during the next three years as it adjusts to the recession and completes its pending acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. . .
Also late Thursday Bernard Madoff, former Nasdaq Stock Market chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested and charged with securities fraud in what federal prosecutors called a Ponzi scheme that could involve losses of more than $50 billion. .
The dollar declined against the yen, hitting a fresh 13-year low, but was broadly steady versus the euro. The greenback was recently down 1.2% at 90.35 yen.
The price of light crude-oil for January delivery fell sharply, losing $3.4 at $44.58 a barrel in early trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The deluge of industry job cuts spread into the traditionally defensive gambling sector Friday when Las Vegas Sands announced it would cut 216 full-time employees from its Las Vegas properties.
International markets were also hit hard by the collapse of the auto industry rescue, with Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbling 5.6% and the French CAC 40 index dropping 5.3%.
By Kate Gibson