Stocks take a step back
Wall Street retreats after two-session advance. Investors await negotiations on $15 billion auto bailout.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Tuesday morning as a profit warning from FedEx and some buyer's remorse after a two-session rally sent stocks tumbling in the early going.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all tumbled in the early going.
Wall Street has surged Monday on signs that a bailout for the nation's automakers may be near. On Monday, the Dow gained 3.5%, the S&P 500 soared 3.8% and the Nasdaq composite rallied 4.1%.
Stocks also rallied Friday as investors looked beyond a brutal November jobs report.
Big Three: Under a plan the White House is currently reviewing, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler could get a total of $15 billion by Dec. 15 as part of a proposed bailout.
The proposal, which was delivered to the White House Monday afternoon, remains a work in progress.
Companies: Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) is closer to naming a new chief executive, but a decision is still weeks away, according to the Wall Street Journal. Former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin has emerged as a contender, the newspaper said.
Japanese electronics giant Sony (SNE) said it plans to cut 8,000 jobs and shut plants in a bid to lower costs.
Package delivery firm FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) warned late Monday that fiscal 2009 earnings won't meet earlier forecasts due to the impact of the slowing economy. The company - seen as an indicator of the broader economy - also said that it sees second-quarter earnings hitting the high end of its previous forecast. Shares lost 11%. Competitor UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) slipped 5% in sympathy.
NBC has signed its late-night star Jay Leno to a contract that will keep him at the network and move him to prime time, the New York Times reported. NBC is part of NBC Universal, which is a unit of General Electric (GE, Fortune 500).
Fannie and Freddie: At 10 a.m. ET, the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on the collapse of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The hearing will feature testimony from Leland Brendsel and Richard Syron, former CEOs from Freddie, as well as Daniel Mudd and Franklin Raines, former CEOs from Fannie.
World markets: European markets were mixed in early afternoon trading. Japan shares ended a shade higher while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped nearly 2%.
Oil and money: Oil prices rose 20 cents a barrel to $43.91, erasing morning losses as traders anticipated a production cut next week from the Organization of Petroleum Producing Nations. The dollar slipped against the yen but rose against the euro and the British pound. 
