[转贴] Factory Weakness, Sudden Drop in Oil Hurt Stocks

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The major indexes marked their first day in the red in the last five after the New York Fed reported that manufacturing in the New York area fell much more than expected this month, dropping to a reading of negative 10.4 from negative 5.9 in August. Indexes tracking new orders and employment also fell, adding more evidence that the rebound in manufacturing earlier this year may have run its course.

And while equities were weak all day, they hit an extra rut around 2 p.m., when oil prices suddenly plunged, giving up about $3 in one minute. The exact cause of the drop — an unfounded rumor that the U.S. would release Strategic Petroleum Reserves perhaps — was unclear, but it certainly rattled the market.

Stocks have reached a high altitude, with the Dow just 4.3% away from its all-time high despite an economic slowdown in virtually every corner of the world and lingering systemic problems in developed countries. It’s still not clear whether aggressive central bank action can overcome all of that.

Both the S&P 500 and the Dow snapped four-day winning streaks. The Dow fell 40 points to 13,553. Alcoa (AA) and Bank of America (BAC) both fell 2.6%. The S&P 500 fell 4.6 points to 1,461.2. The Russell 2000 also fell for the first time in five trading days