US STOCKS-Dow closes below 11,000 as bank fears mount

US STOCKS-Dow closes below 11,000 as bank fears mount

* Dow closes below 11,000 for first time in two years
* S&P 500 slides over 1 pct, Nasdaq nearly flat
* Oil plunges over $6 a barrel, hurting energy shares
* Fannie, Freddie shares fall on worries over rescue plan
* Financial shares end lower in choppy trading (Adds Intel, Sun Micro after-hours rise)
By Walter Brandimarte

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - The Dow industrials closed below 11,000 for the first time in two years on Tuesday as doubts about the U.S. plan to rescue mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae hurt financial stocks and tumbling oil prices hurt energy shares.
Freddie and Fannie shares plunged over 25 percent on fears that a government plan to stabilize the companies will dilute the value of their shares. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the plan was designed to be a backstop.

The whole banking sector finished lower, with the KBW banking index .BKX sliding 3.08 percent in an extremely volatile session, as investors feared the ongoing credit crisis could spur more bank failures after regulators took over IndyMac last week. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the banking system is well capitalized, but also said that financial markets remain under "considerable stress."

"The weakness was concentrated in financials and it seemed like, despite the testimony from Bernanke and Paulson, skepticism remains related to all the credit issues," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at Trusco Capital Management in Atlanta.

The Nasdaq edged up as investors bet Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would ease concerns about slower growth at its Windows business when it reports earnings later this week. Shares of the software maker jumped 4.0 percent to $26.15.

The technology sector may get another boost on Wednesday after Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's biggest chip maker, reported stronger-than-expected results after the market close and Sun Microsystems (JAVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted preliminary results that pleased investors. Shares of Intel gained as much as 2.4 percent in after-hours trade, while shares of Sun Micro rose as much as 12.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 92.65 points, or 0.84 percent, at 10,962.54, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 13.39 points, or 1.09 percent, at 1,214.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 2.84 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,215.71.
Shares of Freddie Mac slumped 26 percent to $5.26 while Fannie Mae shares lost 27.3 percent at $7.07.

Despite the slide in the bank sector, shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 6.6 percent to $13.22 after a report that the investment bank was considering ways to go private. [ID:nN15304704]

Among energy shares, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slid 3.8 percent to $82.19 as the price of crude oil plunged. The S&P energy index shed 4.19 percent.
Trading volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.85 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.7 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 3 to 1, whole on the Nasdaq, about 3 stocks fell for every two that rose. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Oil steady under $139, eyes on U.S. oil demand
Bank shares sink to 1996 levels on loss fears
Bernanke: Markets under stress, outlook uncertain


Source: Reuters.com