Stocks fell sharply in the last half-hour of trading Wednesday, ending a volatile session mixed. Markets have been volatile this week following a six-week advance that sent the Standard & Poor's 500 stocks 29 percent higher after they fell to 12-year lows. Stocks rallied late Tuesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended his department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other efforts to stabilize the financial system. Speaking Wednesday, Geithner noted the need for global cooperation amid the unprecedented economic crisis. His comments came ahead of a meeting of world finance ministers later this week. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery rose 30 cents to $48.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Growing U.S. petroleum supplies had caused oil prices to fall earlier in the session. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and the yen. Morgan Stanley reported weaker quarterly sales and profits that missed estimates, and it cut its dividend 81 percent. Its shares fell 9 percent. Morgan Stanley was the first of the big banks to miss forecasts, after Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs all reported better-than-expected profits. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82.99, or 1 percent, to 7,888.57. McDonald's reported lower quarterly profit that beat estimates, and shares of the fast-food giant fell 2.5 percent. General Motors (GM) said it will reduce debt through a debt-for-stock offering, and its shares were little changed, erasing earlier losses. AT&T reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly profit that beat estimates, and shares of the telecommunications firm rose 2 percent. Boeing Company reported lower quarterly profit that beat estimates, and shares of the aerospace giant fell 2.5 percent. Caterpillar shares gained more than 3 percent after a brokerage lifted its rating on the heavy equipment maker's stock. The broader S&P 500 index fell 6.53, or 0.8 percent, to 843.55. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.27, or 0.1 percent, to 1,646.12. Yahoo reported lower quarterly sales and profits that beat estimates, and the internet company announced it would cut 5 percent of its workforce, sending its shares up 10 percent. Other big technology shares also rallied, including Applied Materials, Intel, and eBay. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 48.98 to 5,290.61. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 14.55 to 1,361.64. And the Russell 2000 index rose 0.65 to 470.71.
