March 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks declined for the first time in three days after consumer confidence tumbled and analysts said mortgage-related writedowns will keep reducing earnings at Wall Street firms.
Bank of America Corp. fell the most since March 14 on a Merrill Lynch & Co. report advising clients to sell the second- biggest U.S. bank. Merrill slid after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its profit estimate for the third-largest U.S. securities firm. Lowe's Cos. and Home Depot Inc. led retailers to their biggest drop in a week after the Conference Board's gauge fell to a five-year low and home prices decreased the most on record.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 5.73, or 0.4 percent, to 1,344.15 at 10:30 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 76.85, or 0.6 percent, to 12,471.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 6.15, or 0.3 percent, to 2,320.6. About the same number of stocks rose as fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
``One of the questions with financials is `How big are writedowns going to be?'' said Kurt Brunner, a Philadelphia- based portfolio manager at Swarthmore Group Inc., which oversees about $1.6 billion. ``The consumer discretionary names will still struggle for a while. Consumer spending is going to be tight.''
The declines in consumer and financial shares, the best performers since the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate last week, overshadowed a rally in raw-materials companies sparked by Monsanto Co.'s increased profit forecast and a rebound in metals prices. The S&P 500, which has dropped 8.3 percent this year, is still 5.8 percent above its 19-month low on March 10.
Asian and European shares advanced on speculation the JPMorgan takeover of Bear Stearns Cos. will reduce the risk of banks collapsing.
Bank of America, Merrill
Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, fell $1.67 to $40.78. The stock was downgraded to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' at Merrill Lynch, which also reduced its earnings estimates to account for credit losses.
Merrill lost $1.28 to $47.10. The brokerage may report $5 billion in additional losses on collateralized debt obligations and other mortgage-related securities in the first quarter, analysts at JPMorgan said. They lowered their 2007 earnings estimate to $2.75 a share from $5 a share.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dropped on lowered earnings projections from Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller.
Economy Watch
Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer, lost 46 cents to $28.80. Lowe's, its smaller rival, fell 47 cents to $23.82.
The Conference Board's confidence index fell to 64.5, a five-year low, from a revised 76.4 in February, the research group said. The group's measure of expectations for the next six months slumped to 47.9, the lowest since December 1973, a private survey also showed today.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 10.7 percent in January from the previous year.
Newmont Mining Co. added $1.38 to $46.84. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. climbed $2.99 to $91.75.
Gold for immediate delivery gained 1.6 percent to $929.91 an ounce in London. Prices dropped 8.3 percent last week, the most in 25 years.
Yahoo Inc. rose 74 cents to $28.26. The stock was upgraded to ``buy'' from ``hold'' at Citigroup, which also increased its price estimate on the shares to $34 from $31.
``Microsoft remains committed to its unsolicited $31 bid offer and is capable of and willing to increase that bid in order to conclude this deal,'' Citigroup analysts including San Francisco-based Mark Mahaney wrote in a report dated yesterday.
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