US STOCKS-Wall St falls on sovereign debt fears, TI off late

                                

  * S&P revises U.S. outlook to 'negative'
  * Materials, oil fall after China's move to curb liquidity
  * Greece denies it is seeking debt-restructuring plan
  * Dow off 1.1 pct, S&P down 1.1 pct, Nasdaq off 1.1 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates with Texas Instruments results after the bell)
                                
By Ryan Vlastelica
                                
 NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street fell more than
1 percent on Monday as sovereign debt fears on both sides of
the Atlantic and China's monetary tightening hurt the outlook
for global economic growth.
                                
 However, equities ended off their lows as some analysts
said the sell-off was overdone, though the decline was still
the largest in a month.
                                
 Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on the United States
credit rating downward to "negative" on a poor U.S. budget
outlook, while China took additional measures to curb
liquidity. For details, see [ID:nN18195555]
                                
 Meanwhile, financial markets are increasingly convinced
that Greece will have to renegotiate the terms of its public
debt, though Greek officials denied that some form of
restructuring was imminent. [ID:nLDE73H17X]
                                
 Four stocks fell for every one that rose on both the New
York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. In comparison, the
reactions of the U.S. Treasury bond and dollar markets were
more subdued. See [US/] and [USD/]
                                
 "The behavior of the bond market suggests that we could
get a rebound in stocks, at least one related to the S&P
news," said David Joy, chief market strategist of Columbia
Management in Boston, which oversees $347 billion.
                                
 The CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX> rose 10.7 percent after
earlier climbing as much as 24.5 percent, its largest daily
percentage jump since Feb. 22. [ID:nN18212074]
                                
 "We're a little surprised that the VIX is as low as it is,
since market risks have risen and there's been some
complacency," Joy said, adding that Columbia Management had
taken some short-term exposure off the table.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slid 140.24
points, or 1.14 percent, to 12,201.59. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> declined 14.54 points, or 1.10 percent, to
1,305.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 29.27
points, or 1.06 percent, to 2,735.38.
                                
 The S&P 500 index fell below 1,300 for the first time
since March 24, though it later rebounded above that level.
Short-term support is seen near the 1,285 area.
                                
 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FALLS LATE
                                
 After the closing bell, Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.N> fell
2 percent to $34.10 after the chipmaker reported a
first-quarter profit that missed expectations by a penny. Its
costs rose after two of its factories in Japan were damaged by
the country's largest-ever earthquake.
                                
 Texas Instruments warned that its second-quarter revenue
would be hurt by interruptions in production due to the quake
damage and power-supply disruptions at those two plants in
Japan.[ID:nN18221973]
                                
 During the regular trading session, volume was low. About
7.83 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the
American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's daily
average of 8.47 billion.
                                
 As investors move to companies expected to outperform in
uncertain economic times, the defensive S&P 500 sectors like
utilities <.GSPU> and consumer staples <.GSPS>  posted among
the smallest losses in Monday's slide.
                                
 Citigroup Inc <C.N> was unchanged, closing at $4.42, after
it reported a first-quarter profit that was slightly higher
than expected, while Eli Lilly & Co <LLY.N> fell 1.1 percent
to $35.62 on concerns about looming generic drugs competition.
[ID:nN18189113] [ID:nN18184252]
                                
 Mitch Rubin, chief investment officer of RiverPark
Advisors in New York, said the day's earnings suggested
volatility in the near term.
                                
 "Market movement will be driven by earnings, and we've
seen a lot of mixed results," Rubin said. "There's been
disappointment about bank results."
                                
 China raised banks' required reserves on Sunday for the
fourth time this year, extending the fight against excessive
liquidity and stubbornly high inflation in the world's
second-largest economy. [ID:nL3E7FH05Y]
                                
 Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N>, hurt both by expectations of
ballooning funding costs and China's move to harness
liquidity, slid 3.1 percent to $103.90.
                                
 China's move and the downward revision of the U.S. credit
outlook hurt basic materials and crude prices, sending the
Reuters/Jefferies CRB index of commodities <.CRB> down 0.9
percent.
                                
 Dow component Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> dropped 1.4 percent
to $83.10 while fellow blue-chip Alcoa Inc <AA.N> fell 2.3
percent to $16.14.
 (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)