Financials Lead More Losses

The markets saw losses today as anxiety about financial firms persisted and oil rose nearly $3 to $116 a barrel, MarketWatch reports. The Dow was hit especially hard, falling  109.51 points to 11,532.96. The other indices made afternoon gains but fell back, with the Nasdaq closing down 1.99 points at 2,428.62, and the S&P off 3.76 points at 1,285.83.

The Commerce Department reported a 0.1% drop in US retail sales since July, better than the 0.3% drop predicted. Traders are discouraged by the various problems facing the economy. “The consumer is still under enormous pressure as employment is declining, real wages are down, housing and stock-market wealth are down, and credit conditions continue to tighten," said Global Insight’s chief economist. (More Dow Jones stories.)