U.S. Stocks Sink as Investors Look to Take Profits

Updated from 9:14 a.m. EST

Stocks in the U.S. opened with weakness Wednesday, after a new pile of data releases pointed to additional economic pain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 149 points to 8331, and the S&P 500 was lower by 14 to 843. The Nasdaq dropped 14 points to 1451.

On Tuesday, stocks fluctuated following the Federal Reserve's announcement of an $800 billion program to bolster mortgage- and consumer-lending markets. The blue-chip indices finished with gains, while the Nasdaq ended lower.

The schedule Wednesday was heavily loaded with economic reports.

The Census Bureau reported that durable-goods orders declined 6.2% in October, a bigger drop than the 2.5% expected by economists. The September figure was revised down to a 0.2% decline from a 0.8% increase.

The Commerce Department's read on personal income showed a 0.3% uptick for October. Analysts had forecast a income growth of 0.1%. Spending slowed by 1%, a sharper fall than expected by economists and a larger dropoff than the 0.3% seen in September.

Weekly initial jobless claims data from the Census Bureau showed claims were down 14,000 to 529,000 for the week ended Nov. 22. The previous claims figures were revised up by 1,000 to 543,000.

Due out later are a November manufacturing index reading from the Chicago Purchasing Managers Association, a consumer-sentiment survey from the University of Michigan and the Commerce Department's new-home sales data.

Outside of domestic indicators, China's central bank announced it cut its benchmark interest rate by 1.08%, a move that reflects increasing concern that one of the world's fastest-growing economies has slowed considerably.