U.S. stocks tumbled in the final hour of trading after analyst Dick Bove downgraded Wells Fargo & Co., erasing an earlier rally spurred by better-than-estimated results at Morgan Stanley and Yahoo! Inc.

Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. home lender this year, slid 5.1 percent after Bove of Rochdale Securities cut the shares to “sell” and said earnings were boosted by mortgage-servicing fees rather than improving business trends. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, tumbled 2.1 percent after saying it expects a “tough” holiday shopping season. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reversed a 0.9 percent advance as nine of 10 industry groups retreated, led by financials.

The S&P 500 lost 0.9 percent to 1,081.4 at 4:07 p.m. in New York after earlier climbing above its highest closing level in a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 92.12 points, or 0.9 percent, to 9,949.36. About three stocks declined for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Bloomberg.com)