Wall St tumbles on recession fears, AIG
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Friday as another round of weak economic data added to U.S. recession fears and a record loss at insurer AIG underscored worries about more write-downs in the financial sector.
The major indexes fell more than 2 percent and ended the month in the red for the fourth month in a row. It marks the longest string of monthly losses for the Dow and S&P 500 since 2002.
Anxiety about the economy increased after a report said business conditions in the Midwest were the weakest in more than six years while a separate survey said U.S. consumer sentiment was at its lowest since 1992.
Dismal quarterly results from the American International Group Inc overnight led financial services company shares lower after the world's largest insurer reported a $5.3 billion dollar loss stemming from housing related write-downs.
"AIG set the tone for the day, and then everybody kind of piled on. I definitely think people are more worried about the financial crisis. It's seen as a major leader in the negatives," said Adam Tracy, director of listed trading at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco.
Late in the session, JPMorgan Chase & Co said first-quarter home equity losses could total about $450 million, and that net charge-offs for bad debt could double from that level by the fourth quarter of 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 315.79 points, or 2.51 percent, to end at 12,266.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 36.96 points, or 2.70 percent, to 1,330.72 while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 60.09 points, or 2.58 percent, to end at 2,271.48.
The faltering municipal bond market added to credit market concerns after distressed sellers dumped several billion dollars of debt on to the market.
For the month, the Dow dropped 3 percent, and the S&P fell 3.5 percent, bringing its losses since markets peaked in October to about 15 percent. The Nasdaq dropped 5 percent for the month.
For the week, the Dow was down 0.9 percent, the S&P was down 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq was down 1.4 percent.
On the day, AIG shares dropped 6.6 percent to $46.86, while JPMorgan Chase shares fell 4.2 percent to $40.65. An index of S&P financial shares dropped 4 percent.
On the Nasdaq, Dell Inc, the world's second-largest personal computer maker, fell 4.7 percent to $19.90 after late Thursday posting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cautioning that customers may rein in spending.
Shares of home builders also took a beating, sending the Dow Jones home construction index down 6.8 percent.
Toll Brothers, a luxury home builder, dropped 5.7 percent at $21.21.
Earlier in the day, the National Association of Purchasing Managers-Chicago said U.S. Midwest business activity contracted sharply in February.
In other data, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed that sentiment slumped to a 16-year low in February, hitting levels that usually sound alarm bells for recession.
