Wall Street began a holiday-shortened week with a moderate pullback today as investors recoiled at bleak news from Toyota and drugstore operator Walgreen.

Stock prices pared earlier gains to end a choppy day relatively flat today as Wall Street remained uncertain that a 17.4 billion-dollar(€12.5 billion) lifeline for US carmakers will make a lasting difference for the beleaguered industry.

A stock market gaining in confidence shot higher for a second straight session today as investors bet that President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to increase infrastructure spending will help lift the economy back to health.

A period of relative calm on Wall Street ended today as stocks tumbled in the final hour of trading on growing investor anxiety about the government’s November employment report.

A period of relative calm on Wall Street ended today as stocks tumbled in the final hour of trading on growing investor anxiety about the government’s November employment report.

US car sales plunged 37% in November to their worst level in more than 26 years, dashing expectations that this dismal year for vehicle demand had found a bottom, and adding more ammunition to the Detroit carmakers’ case for a congressional lifeline.

Wall Street kept up a broad winning streak today, giving blue chip stocks their fifth straight advance as investors looked for clues about whether dire predictions for the holiday shopping season would prove accurate.

The $25bn (€20bn) rescue plan for the car industry, desperately sought by Detroit’s beleaguered Big Three American carmakers, collapsed as Congress drew the line at one more bailout.

The three biggest US carmakers pleaded with Congress for a $25bn (€19.7bn) lifeline to save their once-proud companies from collapse, warning of broader peril for the American economy as well.

General Motors, the largest US car manufacturer, warned today that it may run out of money by the end of the year after piling up billions in third-quarter losses and burning through cash at an alarming rate. Ford sustained heavy losses, too.

The United Auto Workers union in America reached a tentative four-year contract with Chrysler, six hours after going on strike.

The United Auto Workers union and Chrysler remained locked in negotiations this morning as workers in Detroit prepared for the picket lines.

A two-day strike by car workers across the US was set to end today after the United Auto Workers union said it had reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Corp.