(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished with steep losses on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected new home sales data rekindled recovery fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 119.48 points or 1.21% to finish at 9,762.69. The S&P 500 lost 20.78 points or 1.95% to end at 1,042.63. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 56.48 points or 2.67% to 2,059.61.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell by 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 homes in September, down from a revised 417,000 in August. Economists expected new home sales to rise to 440,000.
A release by Commerce Department on Wednesday showed that order for durable goods rose 1% in September, matching consensus estimates.
Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker, sank 88 cents or 6.87% to $11.93.
American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) tumbled $1.28 or 3.56% to $34.67. JP Morgan & Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) lost $1.22 or 2.78% to close at $42.68.
Equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) plunged $2.26 or 3.99% to $54.43.
Shares of diversified US firm General Electric Co. (NYSE:
GE) plummeted 51 cents or 3.42% to $14.42.
Walt Disney (NYSE:
DIS), the largest US theme park operator, slid 93 cents or 3.30% to $27.24.
Shares of Home Depot, Inc. plummeted 79 cents or 3.04% to close at $25.21.
Chipmaker Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:
INTC) slumped 71 cents or 3.60% to end at $19.03.
Among energy stocks, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM) declined $1.07 or 1.43% to $73.84.
Early on Wednesday, WellPoint (NYSE:
WLP) said that its third quarter net income slipped to $730.2 million, or $1.53 per share, from $820.7 million, or $1.60 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $15.21 billion. Shares of the company finished at $46.29, down 41 cents or 0.88%.
Late on Tuesday, Apollo Group Inc.
