NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as the government's effort to stave off a deep recession raised worries about mounting public debts and blunted optimism stemming from the Fed's rate cut.
Highlights:
* Crude oil fell briefly below $40 a barrel for the first time since July 2004, dragging down Exxon Mobil
* Morgan Stanley edged up after an analyst said its poor quarterly results were not likely to be repeated.
* In preliminary closing numbers, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 100.59 points, or 1.13 percent, at 8,823.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 8.85 points, or 0.97 percent, at 904.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 10.58 points, or 0.67 percent, at 1,579.31.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; editing by Gary Crosse)
