Wall Street slips on credit woes, economy

* Senate due to vote on revamped US$700 billion bailout
* Manufacturing, jobs data heighten economic worry
* GE shares trim losses after Buffett makes investment
* Dow off 0.2%, S&P off 0.5%, Nasdaq off 1.1%

NEW YORK - US stocks fell on Wednesday as tight credit markets and bleak economic data kept investors on edge before the Senate votes on a revamped financial sector rescue plan that was initially rejected by lawmakers.

Trading was volatile a day after Wall Street gave its best daily performance in six years, and investors worried about how effective a US$700 billion bank rescue in the United States would be in averting recession.

Investors unloaded shares of technology, industrial and energy shares, including economic bellwethers General Electric (GE), down nearly 4 per cent, and heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar, off 4.5 per cent.

Late in the day, GE shares moved off their lows after investor Warren Buffett said he planned to pump US$3 billion into the diversified manufacturer, though the gains were short-lived.

But investors' main focus was on the fate of the rescue plan, which was expected to come to a vote on the Senate floor after the market closed on Wednesday. The House of Representatives shocked markets by voting down an earlier version on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 19.59 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 10,831.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.68 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 1,161.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 22.48 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 2,069.40.

Financial shares rose as investors hoped for a thumbs-up vote from the Senate. The S&P financial index advanced 2.2 per cent, while Citigroup shares climbed 12 per cent to US$23 and JPMorgan Chase rose 6.3 per cent to US$49.63.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 02 Oct 2008