* Citigroup to cut more than 50,000 jobs, stock falls
* News of Japan's recession adds to global slump fears
* Absence of concrete stimulus steps from G20 weighs
* Dow off 2.6 pct, S&P 500 off 2.4 pct, Nasdaq off 2 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on
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(Updates to early morning)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid on Monday
after Citigroup Inc. <C.N> said it planned more than 50,000 job
cuts and Japan, the world's second-largest economy, slid into
recession, adding to a bleaker global economic and profit
outlook.
Shares of Citigroup, a Dow component, fell 5 percent, and
the S&P financial index <.GSPF> shed 4 percent. Investors also
sold off technology, one of the sectors seen as vulnerable to a
global downturn and reduced business spending.
According to a survey of professional forecasters by the
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank the United States, the U.S.
economy entered recession in April that will last for 14
months. []
"The market has correctly forecast the recession that we
are in," Ernie Ankrim, chief investment strategist for Russell
Investment Group in Tacoma, Washington, said. "The news of job
cuts is one more indication that the economy is in a very
difficult shape right now."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> slid 217.44 points,
or 2.56 percent, to 8,279.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> tumbled 21.31 points, or 2.44 percent, to 851.98. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> plunged 31.22 points, or 2.06
percent, to 1,485.63.
Microsoft <MSFT.O> shares fell about 3 percent, making the
stock a top drag on Nasdaq. Shares of Apple Inc <AAPL.O> fell
nearly 2 percent.
The news from Japan marked another big blow to investors'
sentiment, along with the failure of this weekend's meeting of
the world's 20 largest economies to come up with new stimulus
measures for the world economy.
Citigroup shares dropped to $9.02 on the New York Stock
Exchange, as shares of Microsoft dropped to $19.43 on Nasdaq.
Apple shares fell to $99.92.
News of Japan sliding into its first recession in seven
years in the third quarter followed last week's news that the
Euro zone had also entered recession.
Monday's economic reports included data that showed a key
manufacturing gauge in New York state tumbled in November to
yet another record low. []
Wachovia Capital Markets cut its 2009 operating earnings
estimate on the Standard and Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> to $78.30
per share from $86 per share, citing deterioration in global
growth prospects. []
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
