U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, rattled by news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed General Motors Corp. in an investigation into the world's largest automaker's accounting, Reuters reported. Shares of GM, a Dow component, slid by 5.1 percent to $27.67 on the New York Stock Exchange, weighing on blue chips. Asian markets had swirled with rumors that the company could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but GM strongly denied it. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 36.26 points, or 0.35 percent, at 10,308.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.23 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,189.15. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.23 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,090.82. "There are a lot of discouraged investors out there," said Cummins Catherwood, managing director of Walnut Asset Management. Shares of the world's largest publicly traded oil company and a Dow component rose by nearly a percent to $56.63 on the NYSE. No. 1 U.S. chemical maker Dow Chemical Co. reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. Shares of Dow rose 3.2 percent to $46.28. On the economic data front, U.S. September durable goods declined by a wider-than-expected 2.1 percent, the Commerce Department said. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a 1.1 percent drop.
