Worries about debt drag down U.S. stocks

NEW YORK -- Not even a string of better earnings reports could stave off worries about debt on Monday.

Europe's banking troubles and an impasse over lifting the U.S. government's borrowing limit helped drag down stock markets in the U.S. and Europe. Gold rose above $1,600 an ounce as investors sought safe places to park money.

The S&P 500 index dropped 10.70 points to close at 1,305.44.

The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite index gave up their gains for the month. The Dow fell 94.57 points to 12,385.16. The Nasdaq fell 24.69 points, to 2,765.11.

The results of stress tests on European banks released last week came under deeper scrutiny. Eight banks failed the test aimed at measuring how well they would hold up under additional financial strain.

But the tests didn't take into account how banks would fare if Greece or Italy defaults, said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. Greece and Italy are among the countries most at risk of defaulting on their debts.

Italy not only has Europe's third-largest economy but also the world's third-largest bond market at $2.5 trillion.

"So far European officials have failed to stabilize a country as small as Greece," Greenhaus said. "So we have little reason to have faith they'll fix a country as big as Italy."

In the U.S., the debt limit debate remains at a standstill in Washington. The Treasury Department says the limit must be raised by Aug. 2 or the government risks defaulting on its debt.

But a deal needs to be reached soon, possibly as early as Friday, to have legislation ready for President Barack Obama to sign by the deadline. Rating agencies warned last week that the impasse puts the country's triple-A credit rating grade at risk.

House Republicans are preparing to vote Tuesday on their plan that would lift the debt ceiling but also slash spending. The proposal includes a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. President Barack Obama pledged to veto the bill.

The latest delay in reaching a deal is beginning to weigh on markets.

U.S. banks stocks, which would get hit hard in the event of a default, fell sharply. Bank of America slid 2.8 percent, to $9.72, the biggest drop for the 30 stocks in the Dow average. The bank recently announced an $8.5 billion settlement with a group of mortgage bond investors and reports earnings Tuesday. It's the only major bank trading in the single digits.

Gold rose for the tenth day in a row, jumping 0.8 percent to $1,602.40 an ounce. That's another record in dollar terms, but it's still below the high reached in the early 1980s once inflation is taken into account.

Gold has been rising steadily since the start of the month as the countries considered at risk of default expanded beyond Greece to include Italy and the U.S. Traders have been buying gold as an alternative to holding dollars and euros as the debt problems in the U.S. and Europe undermine confidence in both currencies.

Adding to the worries for investors: lowered expectations for the U.S. economy. Economists at Goldman Sachs lowered their estimates for U.S. economic growth in the second and third quarters of the year late Friday. The economists cited weak sales growth and a drop in consumer confidence in cutting their forecast for second-quarter growth to 1.5 percent from 2 percent. Goldman lowered its third quarter estimate to 2.5 percent from 3.25 percent.

Monday's stock-market sell-off pulled down companies in every industry, especially banks. Even companies reporting strong profits slid lower.

Halliburton Co. ended the day nearly unchanged after posting record revenue in the second quarter. The oil-field service company trounced Wall Street's earnings estimates as higher oil prices led to more drilling, increasing demand for Halliburton's services.

News Corp. fell 4.3 percent as the troubles deepened for Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate. Rebekah Brooks, the former head of the company's British newspaper business, was arrested over the weekend in connection with a widening phone-hacking scandal. News Corp. has abandoned its bid to assume full control of the highly lucrative satellite TV company British Sky Broadcasting. News Corp.'s shares are down 15 percent this month.

Hasbro Inc. fell 4.8 percent. Stronger sales of Transformers action figures and other products lifted the toy maker's earnings but not enough to beat Wall Street's estimates.

Profits at newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. fell 22 percent but it still beat analysts' estimates by a penny. Gannett said it would start buying back stock and double its quarterly dividend to 8 cents. Gannett's stock dropped 3.5 percent.

It's the start of a crowded week of earnings reports. More than 100 of the companies that make up the S&P 500 index are set to release second-quarter results. The list includes the major banks, Apple Inc., Johnson & Johnson and General Electric Co.

Five stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was slightly below average at 3.7 billion shares.