The markets opened lower as investors mulled over a government bailout of AIG and a disappointing drop in new home construction in August. The Dow tumbled 180 points to 10,876. Nasdaq lost 39 points to 2167.
On the upside
Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) hired investment bankers to review strategic alternatives while reaffirming its full-year outlook.
The U.K.'s Lloyds (NYSE: LYG) may buy troubled mortgage lender HBOS which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
On the downside
The future of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) as an independent company was in question as investors worried that the investment bank may have more loss exposure to mortgage-backed securities.
Shares of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) fell ahead of its Thursday's earnings report which may miss expectations due to a strong dollar trimming overseas results.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin
of more than 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 14 points to 696.
