Stocks limp into holiday; Dow down 15
A late-day sell-off sends major indexes into the red. The dollar's doldrums deepen.
Mounting speculation that General Motors (GM, news, msgs) will file for bankruptcy protection as early as May 31 sent the automaker's shares tumbling 25% today and helped prevent the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) from notching a modest gain ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
The automaker won more cost-cutting concessions today, from its Canadian labor union, as it prepares to enter federal bankruptcy court in a showdown with its bondholders, Reuters reported.
The government is prepared to cancel most or all of its existing debt in the automaker and invest in a "new" GM that could emerge from bankruptcy later this year.
The Dow shed 15 points to close at 8,277. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) lost 3 points to 1,692, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) closed down 1 point to 887.
U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.
- Talk back: Is the bear market over?
Benchmark crude oil for July delivery rose 62 cents today to settle at $61.67 a barrel, lifting energy shares.
Retail gasoline prices continued to climb, with the national average rising 3 cents overnight to $2.39 a gallon, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge report. About 32 million drivers are expected to travel this weekend, according to AAA, up slightly from last year.
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