More woes on Wall Street

New York - US stocks ended in negative territory on Wednesday amid fresh signs from the Federal Reserve that the pace of economic recovery is slowing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.01 points (0.19%) to 12 047.80 in closing trade, its sixth straight session of losses.

The broader S&P 500,  comprising  500 large American companies covering about 75% of the US equity market, dropped 5.42 points (0.42%) to 1 279.52 in its longest losing steak since February 2009.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 25.98 points (0.96%) at 2 675.58.

A survey released by the Federal Reserve showed that the pace of recovery is uneven across the country. While seven of the Fed's 12 districts reported steady gains, the economy stalled in the New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago regions, the Fed said. Dallas was the only region to report stronger growth. That was largely due to the effect of higher oil prices on the region's energy industry.

The report added to concerns that have been building since mid-April that the American economy is stalling. High oil prices, bad weather and supply-chain problems following the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan have combined to dampen many investors' outlook for the rest of the year.

Stocks had been up Tuesday, but fell in late trading after Fed chairperson Ben Bernanke said the US economic recovery was "uneven" and "frustratingly slow," though he added that he expected growth to pick up in the second half of the year.

That has left many investors on edge. "What Bernanke basically said was that we have to believe we're in a soft patch that will pass by itself," said Randall Warren, chief investment officer at Warren Financial Services. "That takes a lot of faith."

Energy companies were among the few stocks to gain broadly. Oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp, which gained 1%, rose after oil settled above $100 a barrel. The jump in oil prices came after OPEC ministers made an unexpected decision to keep output at current levels. Investors had been hoping the cartel would increase output, which could have pushed down the price of crude.

Signs that US supplies were tightening also pushed up oil prices. The American Petroleum Institute said late on Tuesday that US crude inventories fell more than expected.

Corporate news reinforced the glum outlook on the economy. Retailer Abercrombie and Fitch fell more than 5% after the company said that it expects its second-quarter earnings to come in lower than the first quarter. Network equipment maker Ciena fell 16% after reporting a larger loss and lower revenue than analysts had expected. And homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises lost nearly 12% after it reported a large second-quarter loss late Tuesday.