US STOCKS - Wall St stacks up losses as global risks rise

NEW YORK (Dec 14): U.S. stocks fell for a third day and hit their
lowest level in two weeks on Wednesday as widespread risk aversion sank
commodity prices, sent the euro to an 11-month low against the dollar
and drove Italy's borrowing costs to a euro-era high.

Investors are disappointed the European Central Bank is not buying
more bonds of troubled European countries, a move that was widely seen
as a requisite next step after leaders at last week's EU summit agreed
to strengthen fiscal unity in the bloc.

With the euro zone debt crisis showing no signs of abating as Europe
slides into recession, the outlook for the world economy is growing
bleaker. The S&P 500 index has fallen more than 3 percent so far
this week.

A 5 percent slump in oil prices hit energy stocks, with the S&P
energy index down nearly 3 percent. Chevron fell 3 percent and was the
biggest loser on the Dow behind industrial machine maker Caterpillar.
Shares of Caterpillar, whose global operations are sensitive to the
economy, fell 4.4 percent to $87.

"There is a growing realization that the global economy is in
jeopardy," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W.
Baird & Co in Nashville, Tennessee. "Business is cooling everywhere.
Right now, the U.S. appears to be operating in a vacuum, but that's not
sustainable."

The S&P 500 fell below its 50-day moving average, signaling a
breakdown of its recent trading range between that level and the 200-day
moving average at the top end. The move has some analysts expecting
further weakness.

Volume was moderate at 7.8 billion shares on the NYSE, Amex and
Nasdaq, about 5 percent below the 200-day moving average -- a further
sign of the difficulties traders and investors face in current market
conditions.

"There could be a number reasons for it," said Joe Saluzzi,
co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. "Lack of
confidence, people are tired of the moves."

December can be a volatile month, with traders closing books and
everything from window-dressing ahead of the year-end to tax-loss
selling contributing to swings in prices.

On NYSE about three shares fell for every one that rose.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 131.46 points, or 1.10
percent, to 11,823.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 13.91
points, or 1.13 percent, to 1,211.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost
39.96 points, or 1.55 percent, to 2,539.31.

The price of copper fell near a three-week low, the price of aluminum
hit its lowest level in 17 months, and tin hit a three-month low. The
S&P's materials sectors index fell more than 1 percent. Shares of
miner Cliffs Natural Resources dropped 2.6 percent to $63.58.

Italy's borrowing costs rose to a euro-era record after an auction of
five-year debt, while the euro fell to an 11-month low against the
dollar.

Italy paid 6.47 percent to sell five-year paper just minutes after
Berlin placed 4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) of two-year bonds at an
average yield of just 0.29 percent - a sign of the extent that investors
favor safety over returns.

U.S. stocks have been weighed down this week on fears that the
agreement at last week's European Union summit did not go far enough to
resolve the two-year-old debt crisis.

"The main issue right now is the complete, absolute failure of the
European Union to come to any kind of solution. They're back to where
they started from," said Jeffrey Sica, president and chief investment
officer of SICA Wealth Management in Morristown, New Jersey.

"Borrowing costs are going to rise, and that's going to continue to
put pressure on us. The summits they've had have taken us nowhere, and
soon we're going to pay the price."

Gold dropped to its lowest level since early October as the weak euro
and a shortage of dollar funding near the year-end prompted investors
to sell aggressively. Commodity-related shares were further pressured by
the stronger U.S. dollar.

The Arca Gold Bugs index, which measures the performance of 16 of the
world's largest gold producers, fell 3 percent. Shares of Yamana Gold,
the Canadian producer, was one of the biggest losers, down 5.8 percent
to $13.98.

U.S. January crude fell $5.19, or 5.18 percent, to settle at $94.95 a barrel.

Shares of Chevron closed down $3.09 at $100.53. Federal prosecutors
in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro filed a lawsuit on Wednesday
against Chevron and rig contractor Transocean over an oil spill off
Brazil's coast last month, seeking 20 billion reais ($10.6 billion) in
damages.

Investors were also disappointed the U.S. Federal Reserve made no
mention of possible new stimulus measures after its Tuesday meeting.

Though a majority of economists polled by Reuters expected no more
Fed action to boost the economy in the short term, another survey showed
most primary dealers saw the central bank enacting some type of
stimulus.

TECHNOLOGY []
shares sold off sharply. A number of companies in the industry and
beyond have cut earnings outlooks over recent days, another sign of the
fallout from a slowing economy. The latest was First Solar Inc, a maker
of solar power systems, which tumbled 21.4 percent to $33.45 after it
cut its 2011 sales and profit forecast and said next year's profits
would fall below Wall Street's view.

First Solar joins a list of companies, including Intel Corp, DuPont
and Co and Texas Instruments Inc, which have cut their outlooks in
recent days.

An index of home builder stocks dropped 3.3 percent after the
National Association of Realtors said data on sales of previously owned
homes will be revised downward because of double counting. – Reuters