* Stocks come off last week's 6 percent gains
* AT&T, Verizon drag Dow on fears about wireless
* Energy stocks gain as crude oil rises on supply fears
* Dow down 0.9 pct, S&P down 0.5 pct, Nasdaq off 0.3 pct
* For up to the minute market news, please click on
[].
(Updates to close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday as
investors booked profits after last week's run-up, while
concerns about slowing cell phone sales hit shares of the
biggest telecommunications companies.
Dow components Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> and AT&T
<T.N> stumbled after Bernstein Research downgraded both
companies, saying the stocks have "come too far, too fast" as
it forecast slower wireless growth and worsening land-line
performance. For details, see []
Financial stocks also slumped after Deutsche Bank cut its
earnings forecast on 16 large commercial banks, including
JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, another Dow component.
[]. JPMorgan fell nearly 7 percent.
Stocks had closed out a holiday-shortened week with a more
than 6 percent gain as investors bet a recovery was on the
horizon after the worst year since the Great Depression.
"There's gonna be a little bit of pressure on the market
because of its performance the last six or seven weeks," said
Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in
Jersey City, New Jersey. "People are more willing to ring the
register and take profits than sit on the sidelines."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 81.80 points,
or 0.91 percent, to 8,952.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> shed 4.35 points, or 0.47 percent, to 927.45. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> slid 4.18 points, or 0.26 percent, to
1,628.03.
The S&P index of telecom stocks <.GSPL> fell 3.9 percent
after Bernstein Research cut its ratings and price targets for
AT&T and Verizon. Verizon fell 6.2 percent to $32.48, while
AT&T lost 3.4 percent to $28.43.
Financial stocks fell after Deutsche Bank said loan losses
for U.S. commercial banks could rise 3 percent by the end of
2010, hurt by a larger percentage of bad loans, greater
consumer leverage and faster problem recognition by banks. That
compares to loan losses of 1.5 percent in the third quarter of
2008. []
The KBW Banks Index <.BKX> fell 3.7 percent, while the S&P
index of financial shares <.GSPF> shed 2.5 percent. JPMorgan
lost 6.7 percent to $29.25 and was one of the top drags on the
Dow.
Homebuilder shares jumped after the U.S. Commerce
Department released a report on U.S. construction spending that
showed building at the end of the 2008 was stronger than Wall
Street had expected. []
The Dow Jones U.S. Homebuilders <.DJUSHB> index was up 6.7
percent, led by Pulte Homes <PHM.N>, which rose 8.7 percent to
$12.14.
Stocks had turned briefly positive and the Dow cut losses
after General Motors reported December sales that were better
than expectations.[]
Dow component General Motors Corp <GM.N> rose 1.6 percent
to $3.71 after it said December U.S. sales fell 31 percent. For
details, see []. Ford <F.N> shares also rose after
it reported December sales, gaining 4.9 percent to $2.58.
Energy stocks rose as oil prices jumped more than 5 percent
in New York on supply fears on Israel's deepening incursion
into Gaza and the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over
natural gas. The S&P index of energy shares <.GSPE> was up 1.4
percent, helped by an 8.5 percent gain in Consol Energy
<CNX.N>.
On the Nasdaq, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> jumped 4.2 percent to
$95.58 after Chief Executive Steve Jobs reassured investors
about his health. []
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled about 1.3
million shares, and about 1.79 billion shares traded on the
Nasdaq.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock
Exchange by a ratio of about 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq
advancers held a slight advantage.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
