Dow, S&P post six-day losing streak

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks fell Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P ending lower for a sixth consecutive session, as investors remain concerned about signs of an economic slowdown.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 22 points, or nearly 0.2%, to 12,049. The S&P 500 (SPX) dipped 5 points, or 0.4% to 1,279. The Nasdaq (COMP) sank 26 points, or 0.9%. to 2,675.

Shares of Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) fell over 2%, making it the worst performing Dow stock. But the index was supported by Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500), which rose 1% after analysts at Oppenheimer upgraded the stock.

After the market closed, Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500) lowered its outlook for second-quarter earnings and revenue. Shares of the technology company fell 4.5% in extended trading.

Oil prices jumped nearly 2% to settle near $101 a barrel after OPEC failed to reach an agreement on crude production levels.

The spike in crude prices lifted shares of energy producers Cabot Oil and Gas (COG), Apache Corp. (APA, Fortune 500) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY, Fortune 500), among others.

Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) rose nearly 1%, after the company announced three new oil and gas discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico that could produce 700 million barrels of product.

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Credit card companies Visa (V, Fortune 500) and MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500) came under pressure after the Senate failed to delay rules capping fees that banks charge retailers to process debit card transactions by consumers.

Overall, the tone on Wall Street has been bearish as investors remain rattled by recent signs that the economic recovery has stalled.

"We've had a slew of bad news," said Abigail Doolittle, the founder of Peak Theory Research.

She said the market has shown some resilience and that stocks could bounce higher over the short term. But she was less optimistic about the bigger picture.

"Over the long term, the bad news will outweigh the good news, and that will pressure the S&P lower from here," she said.

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The economic gloom hanging over the market was reinforced late Tuesday by comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, which killed a modest stock rally.

Economy: The Fed released the latest edition of its Beige Book, which describes economic conditions across the central bank's 12 districts.

The report showed that economic activity continued to expand at a moderate pace in most districts.

But growth slowed in at least four districts, while the Dallas Fed reported an acceleration in activity, according to the Beige Book.

Companies: Hovnanian (HOV) reported disappointing earnings results after the market close Tuesday, sending shares of the homebuilder about 12% lower Wednesday.

LDK Solar (LDK) shares fell more than 7% after the company issued a cautious outlook.

Shares of telecommunications company JDS Uniphase (JDSU) were down sharply. Retail clothing companies Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) were also under pressure.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound, but slipped versus the Japanese yen.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $2.70 to $1,536.00 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged up, pushing the yield down to 2.96% from 2.99% late Tuesday.

World markets: European stocks closed lower Wednesday. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.8%, the DAX in Germany dropped 0.6% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.5%.

The declines came amid reports that Moody's has determined the U.K.'s credit rating is at risk of being downgraded.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.2% and Japan's Nikkei added 0.1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.9%.