* Energy companies fall along with oil prices
* Wachovia recommends Verizon, AT&T
* Interbank dollar rates ease
* Qualcomm drags on Nasdaq, offsetting biotech lift
* Dow and S&P 500 off 0.7 pct, Nasdaq dips 0.07 pct
(Updates to late afternoon)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Monday,
pulled down by energy shares that followed oil prices lower,
while economic concerns nagged after a report showed
manufacturing shrank further in October.
Shares of Dow component Chevron <CVX.N> fell 2.3 percent
to $73.00 as U.S. crude oil dropped nearly $4 to settle below
$64 a barrel on more indications of eroding global demand in
the face of a potential recession. An S&P index of energy
companies <.GSPE> fell 3 percent.
Even the Nasdaq gave up earlier gainers with wireless
technology company Qualcomm <QCOM.O> among its heaviest
weights, which offset the lift from the biotech sector.
Traders said the market's action was likely to be muted
until after Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed
its index of national factory activity fell to 38.9 in
October, a 26-year low, from 43.5 in September. For more see
[]. The level of 50 separates contraction from
expansion.
"It didn't look great but similar to consumer confidence
last week and the third-quarter GDP number, people weren't
expecting it to look great," said Michael James, senior trader
at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
"I think what's going be more important as the week goes
on will be how the retailers' same-store sales figures look
Thursday morning and how bad the unemployment number is on
Friday."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 63.88 points,
or 0.69 percent, to 9,261.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> was off 6.57 points, or 0.68 percent, to 962.18. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> dipped 1.25 points, or 0.07
percent, at 1,719.70.
Declines were cushioned as the rates that banks charge
each other for short term loans fell further on Monday,
extending last week's decline in response to ongoing central
bank measures to supply financial institutions with cash.
Telephone companies Verizon <VZ.N> and AT&T <T.N> climbed
after Wachovia said the firms were safe havens in an economic
slowdown. Verizon was up 2.9 percent at $30.54, and AT&T
gained 4.6 percent to $28.01.
Qualcomm shares lost nearly 5 percent to $36.38 and ranked
among the biggest drags on the Nasdaq 100 <>.
In contrast, Biogen added 8.3 percent to $46.09 on Nasdaq,
while elsewhere in the biotech sector, Gilead Sciences
<GILD.O> rose 4 percent to $47.66.
Deutsche Bank recommended a "buy" on Biogen, while Robert
W. Baird, a research firm, raised its view on the company's
stock to "outperform" from "neutral."
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co <GT.N> rose 7 percent to $9.54
after it reported a smaller-than-expected drop in profit on
increased cost cutting. [].
Democratic contender Barack Obama heads into Tuesday's
election leading Republican opponent John McCain in six of
eight key battleground states, including the big prizes of
Florida and Ohio, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls
released on Monday.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
