S&P; Skid, at 6 Days, Longest in 19 Months

Stocks closed mostly lower Monday, with a key index clocking its longest losing streak in 19 months.

But the technology sector overall held up better than blue chips, despite another plunge in shares of telecom giant WorldCom Group.

In other trading, oil rose again, while the dollar was mixed.

On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slumped 10.87 points, or 1%, to 1,065.45, the sixth straight declining session for the blue-chip barometer. That’s the longest losing streak since September 2000.

The Dow industrials fell almost 1%, off 90.85 points to 9,819.87.

Meanwhile, the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index eased 6.96 points, or 0.4%, to 1,656.93 after diving 7.4% last week.

Heavy selling last week had pushed several major indexes to their lowest levels since October, and the mood failed to improve Monday, analysts said.

“When we fell below the February lows [last week], it prompted people to think we have some more work to do on the downside,” said Todd Clark, head of listed trading for Wells Fargo Securities.

Investors are concerned that corporate earnings won’t rebound soon, and that other woes--such as the Middle East situation--will weigh on stocks in the meantime.

A fundamental issue, many pros say, is that stocks still look historically high-priced relative to earnings expectations, even after the declines of recent months.

“This market is as skittish as I have ever seen it,” said Bruce Turner, head of U.S. equity trading for CIBC World Markets. “People are on edge for any perception of bad news.”

Falling stocks outnumbered winners by 17 to 14 on the New York Stock Exchange and by 3 to 2 on Nasdaq.

In currency trading, the dollar continued to lose value against the euro, with 1 euro equaling 90.4 cents, up from 90.2 on Friday. The euro is at its strongest level since the start of the year, suggesting that foreign investors have increasingly been selling U.S. assets to invest elsewhere.

The dollar also eased slightly against the yen Monday.

Oil prices hit a four-week high after OPEC’s secretary-general said the cartel may not vote to increase production when members meet in June. Near-term crude futures in New York rose 46 cents to $27.57 a barrel.

World oil inventories are big enough to allow consuming nations to meet demand without higher output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Ali Rodriguez said, according to Bloomberg News.

In other commodity trading, gold futures held near the two-year high reached Friday. Near-term futures slipped 60 cents to $311.20 an ounce.

In the bond market, yields rose as the Treasury said it would be forced to be a net borrower of about $1 billion this quarter because of disappointing tax receipts. Normally the Treasury is in surplus in the second quarter.

The yield on the 10-year T-note rose to 5.12% from 5.05% Friday.

Among Monday’s highlights:

* The Dow was weighed down by GM, off $1.33 to $63.19; 3M, down $1.76 to $122.64; and Caterpillar, down $1.26 to $52.89. Boeing, however, jumped $2.12 to $43.63 after a favorable article in Barron’s.

* WorldCom slumped 92 cents to $2.35 on fears it may be headed for financial trouble. Other telecom shares slid as well, including SBC Communications, down $1.25 to $30.15; Verizon, down $2.05 to $39.15; and AT&T;, off 44 cents to $12.86.

Still, major tech stocks were mixed. Intel eased 8 cents to $28.04, but Oracle gained 30 cents to $10.43 and Cisco Systems was up 22 cents to $14.13.

* On the plus side, shares of home builders rallied again. Ryland surged $4.29 to $109.30, KB Home rose 90 cents to $49.60, and Lennar gained 92 cents to $55.62.

Energy stocks were mixed as oil prices climbed. ChevronTexaco gained $1.26 to $85.86 and BP added 19 cents to $49.69, but Amerada Hess lost $1.12 to $76.90 and Kerr McGee slid 89 cents to $59.58.

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Market Roundup, C8-9