Wall Street drops on housing data, retail jitters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell in thin trading on Tuesday on further deterioration in the housing market, while worry over weak consumer spending weighed on retailers in the final stretch of the key Christmas shopping season.

General Motors fell hard for a second day as investors worried if last week's $17.4 billion aid package from the government will be enough to keep automakers from bankruptcy.

A batch of data earlier in the day showed sales of new and existing homes fell again, and the economy contracted in the third quarter, thanks to the biggest drop in consumer spending in 28 years.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 100.28 points, or 1.18 percent, to end unofficially at 8,419.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 8.48 points, or 0.97 percent, to finish unofficially at 863.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 10.81 points, or 0.71 percent, to close unofficially at 1,521.54.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Jan Paschal)