NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- U.S. stocks fell on Monday, as commodities prices were pressured by a rising dollar and financial shares tumbled.
Shares erased early gains and turned negative as a drop in oil prices sent energy and basic material shares lower. Crude futures lost 2.3 percent to settle below 79 U.S. dollars a barrel in New York as the dollar rebounded from a 14-month low against the euro. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) were hurt.
Performance of financial sector was weak. Rochdale Securities bank analyst Dick Bove downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) , SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE:STI) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) , which refreshed investors' concern about banks. Bove's decision of lowering Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) to a " sell" last Wednesday had triggered a sell-off in financials and led the big board sharply lower.
Technology sector fared better than other parts of the market as JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) raised share price estimate of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Meanwhile, chip maker Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) raised its fiscal third- quarter revenue forecast.
In earnings, Dow component Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) reported a 30 percent drop in third quarter's profit but still beat analysts' expectations. RadioShack Corp.'s (NYSE:RSH) third-quarter sales topped expectations, giving a boost to retailers.
The Dow Jones fell 104.22, or 1.05 percent, to 9,867.96. Broader indexes also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 12.66, or 1.17 percent, to 1,066.94 and the Nasdaq dipped 12.62, or 0.59 percent, to 2,141.85.
