* New York-traded BP shares fall 15.8 percent
* Unofficial China exports data top expectations
* Dow off 0.4 pct, S&P down 0.6 pct, Nasdaq off 0.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday
in another late-day roller-coaster ride, dragged lower by BP
and other energy shares as the U.S. probe of the oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico deepened.
New York-traded shares of BP plc <BP.N> fell 15.8 percent
to below $30 on growing worries about the costs the energy
giant will have to assume because of the spill.
"You hear this unease over solvency and/or a dividend
suspension at BP, and I think it's hurting the tone of the
market," said Nick Kalivas, senior equity index analyst at MF
Global in Chicago.
BP officials have said they have enough cash to handle the
crisis, but the cost of protecting BP's debt against default
hit record highs, suggesting increased worry about the British
oil giant's ability to handle its obligations.
With Wednesday's decline, BP has given up more than half
its market value since the explosion that triggered the spill
in late April. On April 20, the day of the offshore oil rig
explosion, BP's New York-traded shares closed at $60.48. On
Wednesday, the shares ended at $29.20.
Wall Street traded higher for most of the session before
negative sentiment stemming from the slide in BP shares
overtook investor optimism.
Banking shares also fell late, in sympathy with energy
shares. MF Global's Kalivas cited concerns that some banks
with exposure to the region may be at risk of losses. The KBW
bank index <.BKX> lost 0.8 percent, with Birmingham,
Alabama-based Regions Financial <RF.N> down 4.4 percent at
$6.79.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dropped 40.73
points, or 0.41 percent, to 9,899.25. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 6.31 points, or 0.59 percent, to
1,055.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> lost 11.72
points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,158.85.
Sentiment was positive earlier in the session after
sources told Reuters that China's May exports data came in
above expectations, reassuring investors concerned that
Europe's debt problems could dampen demand for foreign goods
and slow the global recovery. [].
Advancing stocks barely outnumbered declining ones on the
NYSE by a ratio of about 16 to 15, while on the Nasdaq, about
7 stocks fell for every 6 that rose.
The S&P found technical resistance at its session high
around the 1,078 level, which roughly coincides with its
14-day simple moving average.
The index's moving average convergence divergence, or
MACD, a widely followed momentum indicator, fell slightly
short of generating a 'buy' signal and also provided
resistance.
About 10.53 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, above last
year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
On the upside, airline shares rose after UBS raised its
price target on various top names, including AMR Corp's
<AMR.N> American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc <DAL.N> and
Continental Airlines Inc <CAL.N>.
An index of airline shares <.XAL> rose 0.3 percent after
having gained more than 2 percent earlier.
In deal news, Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc
<MDRX.O> agreed to buy Eclipsys Corp <ECLP.O> in a $1.3
billion deal. Eclipsys shares rose 2.8 percent to $19.02,
while Allscripts tumbled 9.7 percent to $16.64.
[]
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Leah
Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)
