Credit concerns drive Wall Street lower

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday on mounting concerns that credit market upheaval will erode bank profits and hold back consumer spending, but optimism about corporate investment helped lift technology shares. Trading volume was light and volatility once again high a day before a key speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that could shed light on prospects for a cut in the Fed's benchmark interest rate. A big catalyst for Thursday's drop came from Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH - News), which slashed earnings estimates on its investment banking peers, warning about the impact of faltering credit markets on profits. The AMEX Securities Broker Dealer index fell 0.7 percent.

A Merrill Lynch downgrade of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT - News) to sell exacerbated worries about the effect of the credit crisis on the consumer. Shares of the world's largest retailer fell 2 percent to $43.32. "People continue to focus on the big question: 'how widespread are these credit problems?' And then you have high-profile analysts reminding the market that there are probably bad earnings from the financials coming in the back half of the year because of write-downs," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp. in Chicago. The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) was down 50.56 points, or 0.38 percent, at 13,238.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) was down 6.12 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,457.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) was up 2.14 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,565.30. The Dow and the S&P had seesawed earlier, dropping first on a report toxic gas had been discovered in a United Nations building in New York but reversing the losses when U.N. officials said there was no danger.

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source: updatere.com