Stocks fall at open as dollar rises

NEW YORK_Stocks are down in early trading as a stronger dollar weighs on commodities prices.

A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for foreign buyers and can hurt the profits of companies that do business overseas.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of reminders that corporate America is still hurting from the recession.

A person with knowledge of the matter says the government is preparing to extend another multibillion bailout loan to GMAC Financial Services. And health insurer Aetna says it expects to take a fourth-quarter charge of up to $65 million to cover the costs of layoffs and consolidations.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 37 at 10,508. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 4 at 1,121, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 6 at 2,282.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street Wednesday as a stronger dollar tugged on commodities prices.

Bond prices were little changed ahead of the government's final debt auction of the year. Markets overseas fell, following a slight dip in major U.S. stock indexes the day before.

The decline in U.S. markets Tuesday ended a six-day winning streak as reports on home prices and consumer confidence failed to rally investors. While the reports showed improvement, they were largely in line with expectations and painted a picture of a slowly recovering economy.

After a 24.7 percent rise in the Standard & Poor's 500 index this year, many investors have closed their books and are making few moves ahead of the start of 2010. With fewer traders in the market, price swings can be exaggerated.

As 2009 winds to a close, investors are questioning where the economy and the stock market are headed. Concerns about unemployment, consumer spending and the direction of interest rates and the dollar have investors unsure of where to invest their money.

Some investors have been buying the dollar in recent weeks on the belief that the economy is improving and the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the next year. That buying interest comes after a months-long slide in the greenback. Rock-bottom interest rates have encouraged investors this year to move out of cash and into riskier assets like stocks and commodities that have the potential to earn bigger returns.

While a rise in the dollar would be a sign that the economy is on the right track, it could hurt the stock market's advance. A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for foreign buyers and can hurt the profits of companies that do business overseas.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 34, or 0.3 percent, to 10,453. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.60, or 0.3 percent, to 1,118.10, while Nasdaq 100 index futures lost 6.00, or 0.3 percent, to 1,866.50.

In corporate news, GMAC Financial Services is expected to receive $3.5 billion in additional government aid, The Wall Street Journal reported. GMAC, instrumental to the operations of automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, has received $12.5 billion in taxpayer money and is 35 percent owned by the federal government.

Bond prices were steady ahead of an auction of seven-year notes, the last of the government's issuances this week. In total, the Treasury is auctioning off $118 billion of new debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was unmoved at 3.80 percent. Interest rates on many consumer loans track the yield on the 10-year Treasury.

The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against other major currencies, rose 0.2 percent. Oil prices added 3 cents to $78.90 a barrel in electronic premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold and other metals fell.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.9 percent. In afternoon trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index was down 0.9 percent, and France's CAC-40 was down 0.4 percent.