M. Continuo

Wall St. slips amid China lending concerns



    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as investors worried that China's banks might be poised to hit the brakes on lending to stem market excesses, a move that could curb the global economic recovery.

    Concerns about China hurt commodity prices and hit shares in the energy and raw materials sectors, while a steep drop in U.S. durable goods orders in June fed fears of more economic weakness.

    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 26.00 points, or 0.29 percent, to end unofficially at 9,070.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.47 points, or 0.46 percent, to finish unofficially at 975.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 7.75 points, or 0.39 percent, to close unofficially at 1,967.76.

    (Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)