Markets retreat on Veterans Day

Wall Street once again closed in negative territory to begin the trading week with two days of consecutive sell off. At the back of the Veterans Day celebrations in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrials fell 177 points with 29 of its 30 listed companies all ended up in the red. Negative news coming from the corporate side continue to cripple stocks in almost all sectors.

Troubled auto maker General Motors, which was downgraded by Deutsche Bank and Barclays earlier in the week, has began talks with Democratic leaders in Congress concerning a proposed Federal government bailout for the auto industry. The issue was even reportedly discussed by President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama during their meeting on Monday at the White House.

The continuing free fall of crude prices is another indicator that the markets are keenly anticipating. New York crude prices touched below $60 for the first time in 19 months indicating slow demand especially in the United States, which is the world’s biggest oil consumer. Some states in the midwest are already selling gas less than two bucks per gallon. What is good for consumers, though, is bad for business.

Monday’s $600 billion economic stimulus plan by China, which accounts for a little less than 10 percent of their GDP, was quickly shelved by investors into the background and was overwhelmed by the rush of negative corporate results by American companies.