Heres the story ......NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks...

Heres the story ......

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday, hurt by Citigroup Inc's (C.N: Quote, Profile , Research) warning of mounting loan losses that sparked a sell-off in shares of other financial companies.

Investors worried about the impact of the credit turmoil on the broad economy and profits, but stronger-than-expected growth in the vast services sector last month helped stocks to trim losses.

Citigroup executives were unable to assure investors on Monday that a potential $11 billion write-down for subprime mortgages won't grow, and the bank's nearly pristine credit rating was downgraded. For details, see [ID:nN05258480].


Shares of the largest U.S. bank, whose chief executive, Charles Prince, quit on Sunday, dropped 5.4 percent to $35.70.

"The (services) number out today looked a little better than expected, and that helped the market a little," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of U.S. equity group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York. But the latest news from Citigroup shows "we have more to uncover in terms of losses."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 51.78 points, or 0.38 percent, at 13,543.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 6.06 points, or 0.40 percent, at 1,503.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 12.26 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,798.12.