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Stocks Track Lower in Volatile Trading

Elizabeth Trotta

Stocks in New York were trading with volatility at the kickoff of the final week of 2008 Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 66.5 points at 8449, and the S&P 500 edged down 3.6 points at 864. The Nasdaq was losing 24 points to 1505.

GMAC Financial Services, the auto and mortgage financing arm of General Motors (GM), last week received approval from the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company contingent on completing a debt-for-equity exchange by 11:59 p.m. EST Friday. That designation would give the company access to government programs, including Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP. However, the company remained tight-lipped through the weekend as to whether it met its thrice extended deadline.

On Sunday Kuwait's government canceled a deal with Dow Chemical (DOW). The $17.4 billion collaboration, K-Dow Petrochemicals, is too risky due to oil prices and the financial crises, according to Kuwait. Dow said it's working to salvage its proposed $15.3 billion buyout of Rohm & Haas (ROH), which was to be funded in part by Kuwait's $7.5 billion purchase of Dow Chemical equity.

Both Rohm & Haas and Dow Chemical were losing ground on Monday.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said Saturday that his government will seize several gold mining concessions previously granted to wealthy private operators. President Chavez said the move should offset decreasing oil prices. On Monday, oil was rising $1.15 to $38.86 a barrel, while gold gained $5.30 to $876.50 an ounce.

In economic data, consumer confidence, initial jobless claims and manufacturing surveys are due out this week. Discouraging retail figures emerged ahead of the weekend, as sales lagged this holiday season as expected. They fell between 5.5% and 8% compared with the year prior's holiday season, according to preliminary data from SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors.

Economic conditions continue to deteriorate globally. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said Monday that as many as 600,000 people could lose their jobs in Britain next year. That would make 2009 the worst year for unemployment since 1991, according to a report on CNBC.

Overseas, European exchanges such as the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt were edging higher -- up 2.1% and 2%, respectively. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended slightly higher.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising. The 10-year note was rising 16/32 to yield 2.1%, and the 30-year was rising 25.5/32, yielding 2.6%. The dollar was weaker against the euro and yen, and stronger against the pound.