Dow Drops 141 Points on Consumer Woes

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks closed near their session lows Monday, as ongoing concerns about sluggish consumer spending weighed on already hesitant market sentiment about the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 141 points lower, or 1.4% to 10,010. The S&P 500 shed 16 points, or 1.5%, to 1049 and the Nasdaq slipped by 34 points, or 1.6%, at 2120.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.4% in July, faster than the 0.3% estimated by economists. However, the gain wasn't enough to offset concerns about the financial stability of consumers. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy. Without job growth, spending will probably remain limp and damp the economic recovery, analysts have said.

Meanwhile, personal income, rose 0.2% as expected, according to Briefing.com.

"Reports of the death of the American consumer are somewhat exaggerated but consumer spending will not be leading the charge for the economic recovery. High unemployment and an environment of heightened uncertainty will tend to dampen consumer spending for many quarters to come," said PNC Chief Economist Stuart Hoffman.

He said that while consumers' efforts to deleverage and increase savings are weighing on near-term spending, the long-term effects will be stronger household balance sheets.

During an afternoon speech at the White House Rose Garden, President Barack Obama called on legislative members to make passage of a series of small business initiatives a priority in the coming legislative session, according to The Associated Press.

Also impacting global markets on Monday, Bank of Japan, which has been feeling the pressure of its struggling economy and strong yen, unveiled a loan program that combined with previous operations now gives financial institutions access to a total of 30 trillion yen ($355 billion).

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares were the Dow's best performer and the only to finish in positive territory, though Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) and Alcoa(AA) saw the average's lightest losses, after the tech company's board approved a $10 billion stock buyback. The authorization follows an $8 billion buyback in November, of which HP said it had $4.9 billion remaining as of July 31. Shares were gaining 2.8% to $39.08.

Meanwhile, Bank of America(BAC), Home Depot(HD), American Express(AXP) and Cisco(CSCO) put the most pressure on the Dow.

Monday's session also brought a fresh surge in deals activity as Intel(INTC) said it's acquiring Infineon's wireless solutions business for $1.4 billion in cash. Intel shares slipped 2.2% to $17.96.

3M(MMM) agreed to buy Cogent(COGT) for $10.50 a share, or $943 million. 3M's stock lost 1.7% to $79.63 while Cogent's stock soared 24.4% to $11.09.

Genzyme(GENZ) rejected Sanofi-Aventis'(SNY) $18.5 billion takeover offer saying that it undervalues the biotech company. The French pharmaceutical company recently went public with its offer. Genzyme's stock gained 3.4% to $69.91 and Sanofi's stock was off by 1.1% at $28.61.

Also, Cisco Systems made an offer to buy Skype before the Internet phone company completes its initial public offering, according to a TechCrunch report. Shares of Cisco traded 2.4% lower at $20.32.

Shares of Continental Airlines (CAL) and UAL Corp.(UAUA), the parent company of United Airlines, got a lift after they received U.S. antitrust approval to merge. The decision includes an agreement to turn 36 Newark Airport slots over to Southwest(LUV) after which, the companies can now move forward with merger plans, creating the world's largest carrier, according to a Reuters report. Continental's stock gained 0.5% to $21.91 and UAL rose 1.3% to $20.71, while Southwest shares slipped 1.3% to $10.99.

Shares of SunPower(SPWRA) slid 6.2% at $10.53 despite nabbing a new government contract involving the installation of at least 20 megawatts of new solar projects for several U.S. government properties.

Nokia(NOK) and Siemens(SI) are open to the possibility of private-equity investment in their network equipment joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, but neither are looking for an early exit, according to a Financial Times report. Nokia's stock dropped 1.2% at $8.56 while Siemens' shares lost 2.8% to $89.77.

In commodity markets, crude oil for October delivery settled 47 cents lower at $74.70 a barrel, and the December gold contract went ahead by $1.30 to settle at $1,239.20 an ounce.