Afternoon Markets: Dow drops despite sentiment boost

Shortly after opening, America's blue chip index fell 6.57 points, or 0.07%, to 9,620.91 in spite of the economy showing signs of pulling out of the recession. A University of Michigan sentiment index suggested consumer attitudes improved to 70.2 this month from 65.7 in August, exceeding forecasts of 67.5. Home Depot Inc fell 1.42% to $27.14, while financials Bank of America and American Express Inc shed 0.64% to $17.11 and 0.73% to $34.15 respectively. Alcoa Inc gained 2.02% to $13.10, while General Electric Co added 1.08% to $14.96. In the UK, the FTSE 100 continued to power ...