Stocks stay submerged

RENEWED economic concerns after some weak reports and anxiety ahead of chipmaker Intel’s mid-quarter update kept stocks submerged yesterday afternoon, even as Procter & Gamble made an attempt to give the Dow Jones industrial average some air.

Around 1.15pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 76.22 to 8,348.90, pulling back from a more than 200-point dip earlier in the session that was triggered by Wal-Mart’s sales miss. The Nasdaq composite also pared its decline to 27.77 at 1,264.54; the index was down nearly 39 points earlier. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gave back 8.30 to 885.10.

“The bad news out of retail, financials and the fact that technology isn't doing well is the problem,”John Pickett, NYSE trader with LaBarnche & Co told CNNfn’s Market Call. “So three out of the major groups that typically lead markets to the upside are leading it to the downside. The 8,200 level has become a point of support for the Dow. The Dow tested it and didn’t break it. That’s when buyers scrambled to use it as an opportunity to take some stocks that have been beaten down.”