Stocks drop for 5th day in a row

By: Cindy Perman, CNBC.com | 25 Aug 2010 |

Stocks were lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday after dismal housing and durable goods data stressed the prospect of an economic slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 20 points, hovering near the 10,000 mark. This came after a four-day losing streak in which the Dow lost a total of 3.6 percent.

Caterpillar , Disney and Bank of America led the index laggards while Home Depot and Travelers were among the gainers.

The CBOE volatility index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, was above 27.

Talk of a double-dip recession has accelerated in recent weeks, with Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg going so far as to say this is a depression, not a recession.

But several market pros in the past few days have offered a counterpoint, saying they don't think the signs of worsening are there.

“We’ve got a very soft economy—it’s a constant disappointment, but we don’t think we’re going to have a double-dip because the most cyclical sectors of the economy are already in the basement,” David Kelly, chief market strategist at JPMorgan Funds, said on CNBC.

Disney shares fell 1 percent following news that the company is in talks with Apple about renting TV shows to viewers for 99 cents each through iTunes.

Dell shares rose slightly following news that the PC maker is planning to submit a more competitive bid for data storage firm 3Par , challenging Hewlett-Packard's offer of $24 per share, according to sources.

Dell also released its first smartphone with a 3.5-inch Android device called the Aero that costs about $100 on AT&T's network.

Techs were mostly higher across the board with Internet and wireless stocks leading the way, but chipmakers including Sandisk and Texas Instruments continued to take a beating.

In other merger news, Rio Tinto is apparently not planning a bid for Potash . The Canadian fertilizer maker is said to be seeking alternative offers to the $130-a-share offer from BHP Billiton . For its part, BHP slapped down speculation, that it would make a higher bid.

On the economic front, new-home sales dropped 12.4 percent to a 276,000 annual rate in July after a 12.1-percent increase in June.

This followed a dismal housing report on Tuesday that showed existing-home sales fell 27.2 percent last month to their lowest pace in 15 years.

Investors were piling into homebuilder stocks following several research notes yesterday that now may be the time to get in on housing stocks. D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers were both up almost 4 percent. Earlier, Toll Brothers reported it swung to a profit, helped by tax benefits.

American Eagle shares jumped more than 6 percent even after the teen retailer reported lower earnings as high inventories fueled discounting.

A few consumer names were also higher, including Home Depot , Costco and Starbucks .

And health-care stocks, among the least sensitive to economy swings, outperformed the overall market. United Healthcare and Wellpoint rose almost 3 percent each.

And in the morning's other economic news, orders for durable goods rose 0.3 percent but fell well short of the 2.8-percent increase expected. Excluding transportation, orders fell 3.8 percent.

The government auctioned $36 billion of five-year bonds. The high yield was 1.374 percent and the bid-to-cover ratio was 2.83. Auctions 7-year notes are expected on Thursday.

Meanwhile, central bankers, economists and other officials from around the world headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to assess the economic outlook at the Federal Reserve’s annual retreat.

Crude oil fell below $72 a barrel after a report showed a 4.1-million barrel jump in crude supplies, more than double of what was expected. Retail gasoline prices are also falling heading into the Labor Day holiday, with the national average around $2.70 a gallon.

Gold rose to an eight-week high above $1,240 an ounce as the dollar fell against the euro and economic concerns fueled interest in the metal as a safe haven. Gold miners including Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining rose more than 2 percent.

FedEx shares dropped about 2 percent following news that the package-delivery giant is suing New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo, seeking to stop an investigation of the company. The company said Cuomo has exceeded his authority in seeking information on rates, routes, and price information.