By Donna Kardos Yesalavich
By Kristina Peterson and Donna Kardos Yesalavich
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell Monday as bank shares
were hurt by worries about a broad insider-trading probe and energy
shares took a hit from falling oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 73 points, or
0.7%, to 11131, in early afternoon trading, creeping back into
positive territory for the month. The Dow is up about 0.1% for
November.
All but four of the Dow's 30 components were down, led by Bank
of America (BAC) , off 3.1%, and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) , down
2.6%. Oil giants Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CV) also were weak,
but pared some of their losses as oil climbed back above $81 a
barrel. Exxon was recently off 1.3%, while Chevron fell 1.1%.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) was the measure's top performer, rising 1%
ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report, due after the
close.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index shed 0.6% to 1193.
Financials were its worst-performing sector as Ireland's agreement
to accept a bailout caused some U.S. investors to worry over the
frailty of banks' recovery at home.
"It's a reminder to us, seeing what's going on with the European
banks, that our banks are also insolvent," said Michael Pento,
senior economist at Euro Pacific Capital.
The Irish government Sunday said it had formally applied for
tens of billions of euros in aid from the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund. Adding to the Irish turmoil, the
country's ruling Fianna Fail party's grip on power became even more
tenuous Monday after its junior coalition partner said it would
pull out of the government in the new year.
Stoking fresh worries for the financial sector, the Wall Street
Journal reported that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided
the offices of three hedge funds, Diamondback Capital Management
LLC, Level Global Investors LP and Loch Capital Management LLC,
amid a far-reaching insider-trading investigation.
Investors said they were bracing for financials to take a hit as
more details of the investigation surface.
"It is the brokerage and the investment bankers that are going
to be the most likely targets of these investigations," said Robert
Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management.
Leading the sector's declines, Goldman Sachs (GS) dropped 4.3%,
while Marshall & Ilsley (MI@) fell 3.5% and Regions Financial
(RF) shed 3.3%.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) edged up 0.1% to 2520. The index was
boosted by a 6.6% jump in Novell. An investor group reached a deal
to acquire Novell (NOVL) for about $2.2 billion, ending an
eight-month takeover battle for the software company.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. currency
against a basket of six others, rose 0.3%. Demand for Treasurys
increased, pushing yield on the 10-year note down to 2.81%. Gold
futures rose.
Shares of Tyson Foods (TSN) rose 4.6% after the meat packer
rebounded from a prior-year loss, posting earnings that topped
analysts' estimates.
Coffee company Green Mountain (GMCR) surged 20% after saying it
plans to restate its financial statements for the past three fiscal
years and the first three quarters of this year because of errors,
bringing it closer to resolving its accounting issues after the
Securities and Exchange Commission announced a probe of the company
in September. Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded its
stock-investment rating on Green Mountain to buy from
underperform.