U.S. Stocks Retreat on Banking, Economic Concern; Alcoa Tumbles (Lynn Thomasson)

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Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for a sixth day after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said more banks may collapse and unprecedented global interest-rate cuts failed to convince investors the economy will avoid a recession.

Bank of America Corp. slumped 7 percent after selling shares at a discount to shore up capital. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, slid 12 percent as a reduction in manufacturing caused by the credit crisis left the company with earnings that trailed analyst estimates. Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine and Romania shut their exchanges and Brazil's benchmark index fell to the lowest level in two years in the worst week for emerging markets in at least two decades.

``All this volatility in the market really reflects the fact that people are really uncertain about how this financial crisis is affecting the economy,'' David Kelly, chief market strategist at JPMorgan Funds, which oversees about $304 billion, told Bloomberg Television in New York.

The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses at least 20 times today, ending down 11.29 points, or 1.1 percent, at 984.94, its lowest since August 2003. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 189.01, or 2 percent, to 9,258.1. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.8 percent to 1,740.33. Five stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.