NEW YORK — Wall Street sank Wednesday for the second straight day on renewed concerns about the financial sector and FedEx Corp.’s warning that weakening demand and surging fuel costs would weigh on its profits in the coming year.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished down more than 130 points, after briefly dipping below the 12,000 mark for the first time since mid-March. All three major stock indexes finished down about 1 percent, as oil and bond prices jumped.
Unease about financials arose after several worrisome developments. Fifth Third Bancorp said it plans to cut its dividend by nearly two- thirds, raise $1 billion through an offering of preferred stock and generate another $1 billion through the sale of businesses.
MF Global Ltd. predicted that tight credit spreads will weigh on its fiscal first-quarter earnings. The futures and options broker said it plans to sell $300 million in convertible securities to help pay down a loan due this year.
And although Morgan Stanley reported a slightly better- than-expected fiscal second- quarter profit, earnings at the nation’s second-largest investment bank were still down 61 percent from a year earlier on declining revenue.
The Dow fell 131.24, or 1.08 percent, to 12,029.06. The index hadn’t traded below the 12,000 mark since March 18 and last closed below that level March 17.
The Dow’s decline followed its loss of more than 100 points Tuesday.
Broader stock indicators also pulled back Wednesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 13.12, or 0.97 percent, to 1,337.81, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 28.02, or 1.14 percent, to 2,429.71.
Light, sweet crude rose $2.67 to $136.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Energy Department said the nation’s crude-oil stockpiles fell less than expected last week but that gasoline supplies declined.
Though often volatile, the weekly numbers have drawn increased attention in recent months as investors look for any clues about where energy prices are headed.
“The financials are getting hit. There just isn’t anything to spark interest in buying,” said Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer for Cozad Asset Management Inc. in Champaign, Ill.
He said investors are finding it difficult to set aside their worries about the economy.
