US STOCKS-Wall St slips as energy stocks decline

                                
 * Energy shares dive after Schlumberger cuts outlook
                                
 * Fed's Beige Book shows economy weakens since early Oct
                                
 * Employment, services data suggest recession worsening
                                
 * Dow off 0.9 pct, S&P down 0.7 pct, Nasdaq down 0.5 pct
                                
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[STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to early afternoon, changes byline)
                                
 By Deepa Seetharaman
                                
 NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks stumbled on
Wednesday. driven down by energy companies as investors
grappled with more dismal data and gloomy outlooks from global
heavyweights, including Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc
<FCX.N>.
                                
 The S&P 500 energy index <.GSPE> slid 2.4 percent, while
the CBOE Oil index <.OIX> fell 3.4 percent. Energy sector
stocks declined, taking the Dow and S&P lower after oilfield
services leader Schlumberger Ltd <SLB.N> said its 2008 profit
would fall short of Wall Street's estimates as the global
economic slowdown hurts spending on oil and gas exploration.
For details, see [ID:nN0332330] The news dragged down other
energy stocks, including oil producer Chevron Corp <CVX.N>,
down 2.8 percent at $73.46, making it the No. 2 drag on the
Dow.
                                
 The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, an anecdotal report on
economic activity in 12 regions, showed economic activity has
weakened across the United States since early October. This
offered more evidence of the economy's dire state, following
weak data this morning and news on Monday that the U.S.
economy entered a recession a year ago.
                                
 "The data today tells you the recession is as severe as
most people fear it is at this point. It's really going to
come down to how much worse it gets," said Marc Pado, market
strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., in San Francisco.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 75.66 points,
or 0.89 percent, at 8,343.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX>  slipped 6.04 points, or 0.71 percent, to 841.98. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 6.52 points, or 0.45
percent, at 1,443.28.
                                
 Freeport shares dove 20.1 percent to $17.44 after the
company said it would cut output and suspend its dividend. For
details, see [ID:nN03310672]
                                
 Aluminum producer Alcoa <AA.N> fell 9.1 percent to $8.87,
making it among the heaviest weights on the Dow.
                                
 In economic news, ADP Employer Services said before the
bell that U.S. private-sector employers cut the biggest number
of jobs in seven years in November. Another report showed the
vast services sector contracted further in
November.[ID:nN03324601]
                                
 With the United States officially mired in a year-old
recession, stocks have tended to stage isolated rallies that
soon sputter out. The benchmark S&P 500 is down more than 40
percent for the year.
 (Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan
Paschal)