* Banks drop on profit-taking, share offerings
* SAP's reassuring comments limit tech losses
* Dow off 1.8 pct; S&P off 2.2 pct; Nasdaq off 0.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to close)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday as
investors booked profits in financials after a two-month
run-up and news of several banks' share offerings heightened
worries about their dilutive impact on current shareholders.
With government stress tests on big banks out of the way,
and after a steep rise from March lows, investors sold some
financials and took some of their recent gains. JPMorgan Chase
& Co <JPM.N> slid 8 percent to $35.83 and Bank of America Corp
<BAC.N> dropped 8.7 percent to $12.94.
Citigroup <C.N> fell 4 percent to $3.86, and Wells Fargo
<WFC.N> shed nearly 6 percent to $26.53.
Technology shares fared better, however, on the day after
German software maker SAP's <SAPG.DE><SAP.N> co-chief
executive said the next few months may bring "glimmers of
hope" for the global economy. Big-cap software makers,
including Oracle Corp <ORCL.O>, were standouts and the Nasdaq
finished near break-even.
"You could be seeing some sector rotation out of the
financials that were up so much. Tech names lead the market
when the economy starts to turn," said David Bellantonio, head
of trading at Instinet in New York. "Tech is outperforming the
rest of the market."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> shed 155.88
points, or 1.82 percent, to 8,418.77. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> declined 19.99 points, or 2.15 percent, to
909.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> dipped 7.76 points,
or 0.45 percent, to 1,731.24.
In the bank sector, U.S. Bancorp <USB.N> lost almost 10
percent to $18.50 and Capital One <COF.N> fell 13.5 percent to
$27.10, while BB&T Corp <BBT.N> fell 7.6 percent $24.34. These
banks were the latest to seek additional capital by announcing
stock offerings on Monday. []
The KBW Bank index <.BKX>, which through Friday had more
than doubled since the broader market's March low, shed 7.1
percent as investors booked profits before the dilutive
effects of the stock offerings. In comparison, the S&P 500 has
risen more than 34 percent from its March 9 closing low.
The Nasdaq's support came from software makers, with
Oracle up 1.3 percent at $18.56. Oracle ranked among the
Nasdaq's top advancers, along with other tech bellwethers such
as Apple Inc <AAPL.O>, up 0.3 percent at $129.57. Symantec
<SYMC.O> jumped 3 percent to $15.32.
The tech sector's resiliency helped propel the Nasdaq to
its ninth straight weekly gain on Friday, its longest winning
streak since December 1999.
In earnings news, U.S. satellite TV provider Dish Network
Corp <DISH.O> posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit,
pushing the stock up 17.1 percent to $17.92, and making it one
of the Nasdaq's top advancers.
Besides financials, shares of energy companies exerted
some major drag due to retreating oil prices. Chevron <CVX.N>
fell 3.4 percent to $68, making the stock the Dow's second-
worst drag behind JPMorgan. Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> shed 1.6
percent to $69.27.
U.S. front-month crude <CLc1> dipped 13 cents, or 0.22
percent, to settle at $58.50 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, where
about 1.49 billion shares changed hands, matching last year's
daily average. On the Nasdaq, about 2.51 billion shares
traded, exceeding last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of
more than 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, nearly eight stocks
fell for every five that rose.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
