Fannie Mae gave a boost to financials — and for a brief, shining moment the whole market — after the home-financing giant said it sold $2 billion of short-term debt at a lower interest rate than last week.
(Are bank stocks a value trap? Click on the video at left.)
Rival Freddie Mac sold $3 billion of two-year notes. Solid demand for both offerings indicated that both firms continue to have access to debt funding, which is necessary to keep their businesses afloat.
Lehman Brothers was back in the spotlight following news that Ospraie Fund, a commodities fund in which Lehman has a 20 percent stake, is closing and will return money to investors after incurring big losses this year. Also, an investment in Lehman by Korea Development Bank in conjunction with other banks appeared to be on the rocksafter two banks involved distanced themselves from that speculation. And the name of another possible suitor was being bandied about in the market today: HSBC.
Techs, which are seen as having the most exposure overseas, were among the hardest hit by the economic worries and the dollar's drop.
Qualcomm dragged on the Nasdaq after the chip maker's CEO told CNBC that the company is seeing signs of users slowing their cellphone upgrades.
Corning skidded after the company, which is the world's largest maker of glass for liquid-crystal displays for televisions and computers, slashed its third-quarter outlook.
Intel and Hewlett-Packard were among the biggest drags on the Dow, along with commodity stock Alcoa .
Morgan Stanley is raising $10 billion for a global property fund and plans to put $1.5 billion or more of that into China, shrugging off concerns about a property market downturn, according to a Reuters report.
Meanwhile, shares of Ambac Financial surged following news that the bond insurer gained approval from the Wisconsin Department of Insurance to reactivate its Connie Lee Insurance unit to begin offering coverage of municipal bonds and other public finance instruments.
Also, Ambac showed signs that investors' faith is being restored in its credit standing, as it reported a $2.47 billion unrealized loss in the fair value of July credit derivatives.
Coca-Cola will pay $2.5 billion for Chinese juice maker Huiyuan, triple its value, tightening its grip on a booming market in the biggest foreign takeover in China.
In economic news, factory orders jumped 1.3 percent, more than the 1 percent expected, in July, helped by a rise in transportation orders. However, even when transportation was stripped out, orders still rose 1 percent. Factory orders have now risen for five straight months.
Regional Fed branches reported softness heading into the fall, according to the Fed's beige-book report. A growing number of analysts now say the economy will hit another rough patch later this year as both businesses and consumers curb spending.
Auto makers released August sales and, with the exception of Nissan, reported a 10th straight month of declineas pinched consumers held off on major purchases.
Ford's U.S. sales tumbled 27 percent, while General Motors sales skidded 20 percent and Toyota sales dropped 9.4 percent.
Retailers will issue their reports on August same-store sales on Thursday. Most retail stocks were up ahead of the reports, notably beaten-down department stores and the home-improvement chains. However, discounters Wal-Mart and Target and the teen-apparel chains declined.
Home Depot was among the Dow's top gainers after the company's CEO said the housing sector will likely remain under pressure through early 2009 but that the end is in sight. A day earlier, Goldman Sachs raised its rating on Home Depot to "buy" from "neutral."
THIS WEEK:
MONDAY-THURSDAY: Republican National Convention
WEDNESDAY: Weekly mortgage applications; ADP employment report; auto sales; factory orders; crude inventories; Fed's beige book; Earnings from Staples, H&R Block and Hovnanian; GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin speaks
THURSDAY: Same-store sales; Monster employment report; jobless claims; productivity; ISM services index; Fed's Yellen speaks; Earnings from Toll Brothers
FRIDAY: August jobs report; earnings from Nat Semi
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