NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks lost ground after a weak auction of U.S. government debt stirred worries about how easily Washington will be able to raise money to fund its economic rescue program.
Investors gave an unexpectedly cool response to a $24 billion auction of 5-year Treasury notes Wednesday, which also sent prices for Treasurys lower.
The government is running up record deficits in order to fund an array of plans to provide stimulus to the economy and support to the ailing financial system.
The market had been higher earlier in the day on enthusiasm over economic reports showing increased demand for big-ticket manufactured goods and higher sales of new homes. Both readings came in better than forecast.
In midafternoon trading, the Dow fell 33.93, or 0.4 percent, to 7,626.04. The Dow had been up about 200 points at its high of the day. The blue chips fell nearly 116 points on Tuesday and surged almost 500 on Monday.
Broader stock indicators also turned lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.60, or 0.7 percent, to 800.65, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.70, or 0.8 percent, to 1,504.82.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.90, or 0.2 percent, to 415.88.
About eight stocks rose for every seven that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.02 billion shares.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-slide-after-weak-apf-14744414.html
