Stocks slump on economic gloom
Investors fret about Citi job cuts, weak economic data and Target results.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Monday morning as investors considered Citigroup's sweeping job cuts and geared up for a slew of economic news due later this week.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all lost over 1% in the early going.
The banking giant Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) said Monday that it planned to cut more than 50,000 jobs, cutting its staff to 300,000.
Stocks fell in afternoon trading in Europe, following the G-20 meeting this weekend in Washington. Japan's Nikkei index was one of the few bright spots worldwide, rising about 0.7%.
"I think the big focus is going to be the economic data that we see this week," said Peter Cardillo, analyst for Avalon Partners. "We need to get all the bad economic numbers out of the way and see some stabilization in the data. Once we get the data stabilized, then the markets begin to look forward."
Economy: On Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the New York Empire State Index for general business conditions slipped 0.8 point in November to minus 25.4, a record low in the seven-year history of the survey.
The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 1.3% in October, more than economists expected. But the September report was revised to a 3.7% decline from the originally reported 2.8% drop.
More economic reports this week are expected to show signs of recession.
Later this week, reports will focus on inflation. On Tuesday, the Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale inflation, is expected to have fallen 1.5% in October after dropping 0.4% the prior month.
On Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index, a measure of consumer inflation, is expected to have fallen 0.8% in October, after a flat reading in September. Also on that day, a report on housing starts is expected to show an annual rate of 780,000 in October, down from a 17-year low of 817,000 in September.
This week, Congress will take up the issue of bailing out the Big Three: General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford Motors (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the issue on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
Companies: Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) posted a 24% plunge in earnings to 33 cents per share. That still beat the 28 cents per share expected by analysts, according to a consensus of projections from Thomson Reuters. Shares rose in early trading.
Retailer Target (TGT, Fortune 500) reported a 24% plunge in quarterly profit, to 49 cents per share, blaming the weak consumer economy. The company still managed to beat analyst projections, albeit barely. A consensus of analysts had projected earnings to fall 13% to 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Shares gained 3% at the open.
Money and oil: The U.S. dollar rose versus the yen, but slipped against the euro and the British pound. Oil rose 25 cents to $57.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 
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