Business life: My finance news blog

NEW YORK — Investors retreated from Wall Street again, driven by worries about the nation’s big banks and General Motors Corp.

Thursday’s slide more than wiped out the previous day’s rally. Short selling — bets that stocks will fall — exacerbated the losses, slashing 281 points from the Dow Jones industrials and sending all the major indexes down more than 4 percent.

The latest torrent of selling came ahead of the February Labor Department report that is likely to show hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost. Reports showing better-than-expected retail sales and factory orders Thursday weren’t enough to stoke investor confidence.

The Dow fell 281.40, or 4.1 percent, to 6,594.44, its lowest close since April 1997.

Broader indicators also tumbled. The S&P 500 index dropped 30.32, or 4.3 percent, to 682.55, its lowest close since September 1996. The Nasdaq composite index fell 54.15, or 4 percent, to 1,299.59.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 21.85, or 5.9 percent, to 349.45.

On the New York Stock Exchange, only 235 stocks advanced while 2,887 fell. Consolidated volume came to a heavy 7.28 billion shares compared with 7.51 billion shares traded Wednesday.

Government bond prices rose as investors sought a safe haven. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.81 percent from 2.98 percent late Wednesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, slipped to 0.20 percent from 0.25 percent Wednesday.

Stocks fell in every industry, with beleaguered banks posting some of the steepest drops after negative comments from Moody’s Investors Service weighed on the already depressed financial stocks free instant credit reports. Citigroup Inc., still shaky despite receiving billions in government aid, at times sank below $1 and finished down 9.7 percent at $1.02. Bank of America Corp. dropped 42 cents, or 11.7 percent, to $3.17; Wells Fargo & Co. tumbled $1.54, or 15.9 percent, to $8.12; JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell $2.70, or 14 percent, to $16.60.

General Motors, meanwhile, ended with a loss of 15 percent at $1.86. The automaker said in its annual report that auditors raised serious doubt about its ability to continue operating. GM has already received $13.4 billion in federal loans, and is seeking a total of $30 billion from the government. GM dove 34 cents, or 15.5 percent, to $1.86.

General Electric Co. closed down 3 cents at $6.66. Trading in the stock was volatile, but losses were limited as analysts expressed differing views on the health of its finance unit.

Exxon-Mobil Corp. closed at $62.22, down $3.46. The oil giant said it plans to increase spending on capital and exploration projects, even as many rivals scale back operations.

Blockbuster Inc. closed down 2 cents at 45 cents. Fourth-quarter sales climbed 4.4 percent, as increased sales of games and merchandise offset movie-rental declines.

Limited Brands Inc. closed at $6.40, down 62 cents. The operator of Victoria’s Secret reported that sales at stores open at least one year fell 7 percent in February.

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