Dow falls back after yesterday's gains

Jittery investors sent stocks lower on Wall Street today as the downgrade of bonds issued by General Motors and Ford undermined the market’s confidence and erased its earlier modest gains.

Standard & Poor’s decision to lower the vehicle manufacturers’ debt ratings dragged down the rest of the market, which was already nervous ahead of the Labour Department’s job creation report tomorrow.

The debt downgrade came one day after stocks surged in response to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s announcement that he took a large stake in embattled GM.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 44.26, or 0.43%, to 10,340.38, ending a four-day winning streak. Much of the loss could be attributed to GM’s falling stock price.

Broader stock indicators were narrowly lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 3.02, or 0.26%, at 1,172.63, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 0.43, or 0.02%, to close at 1,961.80.

Crude oil futures moved sharply higher in afternoon trading after an industry consulting firm issued a report that projected higher energy prices. A barrel of light crude settled at 50.83, up 70 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 0.42, or 0.1%, at 595.64.

Elsewhere, Japan’s markets were closed for a national holiday. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.41%, France’s CAC-40 gained 0.8% for the session, and Germany’s DAX index rose 0.82%.