Wall Street stock indices fell for the third
straight trading day Monday as US consumer spending dropped for a record sixth
consecutive month and more companies announced job cuts, dpa reported.
Consumer spent 1 per cent less in December at an annual rate than in the
previous month, the Commerce Department said. For the whole of 2008, consumer
spending climbed 3.6 per cent, the smallest increase since 1961.
Many consumers have been saving over the last few months as the United States, the world's largest economy, grapples with a serious recession that began in
December 2007.
Macy's, the second-largest US department store, said Monday it will eliminate
about 7,000 positions as part of a restructuring effort designed to save money
as consumers have scaled back their spending.
The jobs amount to about 4 per cent of its workforce of 180,000 and come amid
tens of thousands lay-offs at US companies in recent weeks.
The country's manufacturing sector also continued to decline in January. The
Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index stood at 35.6 on the
month, well below the 50-point dividing line between growth and contraction.
But technology stocks were a bright spot on the day, led by Microsoft Corp and
Humana Inc, a health-insurance provider that posted better-than-expected
earnings.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 64.11 points, or 0.80 per
cent, to 7,936.75. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was largely
unchanged, declining 0.44 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 825.44. But the
technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 18.01 points, or 1.22 per cent,
to 1,494.43.
The US currency fell against the euro to 77.84 euro cents from 78.05 euro cents
on Friday. The dollar dropped against the Japanese currency to 89.48 yen from
89.92 yen.
...