By DPA,
New York : US stock indices shed more than one percent of value Monday, extending losses from last week on anticipation that commodity and bank earnings will fall below analysts’ expectations.
Alcoa shares dropped 6.9 percent and Citigroup Inc plunged 17 percent over concern about combining its brokerage unit with Morgan Stanley’s. ConocoPhillips fell 2.9 percent after crude sank below $38 a barrel on expectations demand will decrease amid the recession.
US President George W. Bush asked Congress to sign off on the remaining $350 billion of the finance bailout package after receiving a request to release the funds from president-elect Barack Obama, who takes office Jan 20.
The move triggers a 15-day period during which Congress can reject or accept the request. Obama is frustrated by resistance in Congress against a new $800-billion stimulus plan that he had hoped would be on his desk the day he takes office.
Obama could veto a congressional rejection, a move that could end the normal honeymoon new presidents spend with Congress.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.21 points, or 1.46 percent, to 8,473.97. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index shed 20.09 points, or 2.26 percent, to 870.26. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 32.80 points, or 2.09 percent, to 1,538.79.
The US currency was valued at 74.85 euro cents and 89.46 yen.