A myriad of gloomy corporate news froze the bulls on Wall Street on Monday as the Dow posted its fourth consecutive losing session despite a late-day comeback effort. 

Today's Market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 59.42 points, or 0.69%, to 8519.69, the S&P 500 fell 16.25 points, or 1.83%, to 871.63 and the Nasdaq Composite sank 31.97 points, or 2.04%, to 1532.35. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 dropped 8.29 points, or 1.22%, to 670.69.

There wasn't a shortage of negative corporate headlines to prevent buying on Monday as Toyota (TM) warned of its first annual loss in 70 years, an analyst predicted shares of General Motors (GM) may soon be worthless, and Walgreen (WAG) posted disappointing earnings. Also, Manpower (MAN) withdrew its fourth-quarter guidance and Caterpillar (CAT) announced new cost-cutting moves to fight the recession. 

Wall Street suffered weakness across the board as retailers like Macy's (M), basic material stocks like U.S. Steel (X) and financial giants such as Morgan Stanley (MS) all ended sharply lower. Still, the markets closed well off session lows as the Dow was briefly down more than 200 points before recovering. 

The current four-day losing streak for the Dow reverses a recent string where the benchmark index rose or traded flat despite an onslaught of bearish headlines. The blue-chip index has lost roughly 500 points during the past four sessions. 

“There’s a little bit more of a realization that things haven’t gotten much better in the last couple of weeks and stocks have had a pretty big [upward] move," said Michael James, senior equity trader at Wedbush Morgan Securities. 

General Motors (GM) and American Express (AXP) led the way down on the Dow on Monday, canceling out modest gains from defensive stocks like McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK). 

The Nasdaq Composite saw much heavier selling than the broader market as a number of tech stocks like Yahoo! (YHOO) and Electronic Arts (ERTS) fell sharply. Focus Media (FMCN) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) posted some of the biggest percentage losses on the Nasdaq 100.

The auto sector was in focus on Monday after Toyota warned it likely lost $1.7 billion this year as the global economy soured. Toyota's comments represent its second profit warning in less than two months and helped send shares of GM and Ford (F) spiraling just days after the White House bailed out the U.S. auto industry. 

GM lost one-fifth of its market value on Monday after an analyst at Credit Suisse downgraded the company's stock, warning its equity may be entirely wiped out.

Meanwhile, energy stocks such as Valero (VLO) and Peabody Energy (BTU) ended sharply lower as crude oil futures fell for the seventh consecutive day. The price of a barrel of crude settled at $39.91, down $2.45. The losses built on what was the commodity's worst weekly performance since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. 

The lowest oil prices since February 2004 brought the average price of gasoline down to $1.66 last week, the lowest level in almost five years. It's noteworthy that crude oil opened nearly $10 higher than it closed on Friday as the January futures contract expired over the weekend. Still, the commodity more than one-quarter of its value during December alone. 

Corporate Movers

American International Group (AIG), the insurer that was rescued by the government in September, sold its Hartford Steam Boiler business to Germany’s Munich Re for $742 million in cash. The sale price is well below the $1.2 billion AIG paid for the business in 2000.

General Motors (GM) plans to begin negotiating with the United Autoworkers Union, bondholders and the incoming Obama administration in early January, The Wall Street Journal reported. GM CEO Rick Wagoner said during a radio interview on Monday that some dealers saw stronger sales this weekend after the White House gave the industry a bailout on Friday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Walgreen (WAG) disclosed weaker-than-expected earnings of 41 cents per share and cut its store opening plan for the second time since July.

Caterpillar (CAT) announced new cost-cutting measures due to the recession, including a 50% decrease in executive compensation in 2009 and an incentive-based voluntary separation program. 

Manpower (MAN) withdrew its fourth-quarter forecast due to "especially weak" demand for its temporary workers during December. 

Bank of Ireland (IRE) and Allied Irish Banks (AIB) rose sharply after the Irish government unveiled plans to inject $7.7 billion into the nation's three largest banks. The Irish government also took majority stakes in weaker lenders. 

Focus Media (FMCN) fell sharply after the Chinese digital ad company announced a $1.27 billion all-stock deal to sell its out-of-home ad networks business to SINA (SINA).  

Kemet (KEM), which makes electronics components, disclosed plans to slash 1,500 manufacturing jobs. The cuts amount to 14% of the company's workforce. 

Data Dump

The Chicago Fed’s manufacturing activity index plunged by 1.2 points in November, the second-largest decline in nearly two years. The index ended at -2.47, the lowest level since January 1982.