Stocks fall sharply on write-down worries

NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks dropped steeply Friday as investors unloaded shares heavily and write-downs in the financial sector indicated slowing consumer spending.

The three major stock indexes took a licking with the Dow Jones industrial average absorbing a triple digit loss, down 246.79 points, or 1.92 percent, to 12,606.30.

The Nasdaq composite was down 48.58, or 1.95 percent, at 2,439.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 19.31, or 1.36 percent, at 1,401.02.

In trading on the NYSE Friday, 1,152 stocks were up and 2,013 were down.

Bonds climbed. The two-year Treasury note gained 6/32 to yield 2.604 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro changed hands at $1.4787 from $1.4800.

Crude oil prices dropped $1.01 to $92.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Major losses were looming at Merrill Lynch and American Express, overshadowing a confirmed deal by Bank of America to rescue troubled Countrywide Financial in a $4 billion all-stock deal.

Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest brokerage firm, said it expected to report losses of $15 billion stemming from soured mortgage investments. American Express warned will have to take a charge of $440 million before taxes in the fourth quarter to cover higher delinquencies and loan write-offs.Other credit card insurers also were having troubles.