Wall Street ended lower on Monday as investors are nervous that the swine flu outbreak could spread and block economic recovery.

Fears had weighed on shares of airlines and cruise lines and dragged down major indexes after US health officials said on Monday that there are now up to 40 cases of swine flu in five US states.

Investors also closely watched General Motors, after the company stepped up dealer shutdowns and job cuts and offered equity to bondholders under a plan to reduce liabilities by US$44 billion. GM soared more than 20 percent on the restructuring plan, to above 2 dollars a share.

Humana Inc., the second-biggest provider of US-backed medical benefits, jumped after profit more than doubled. CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co. advanced on speculation that the spread of swine flu will boost sales of pharmaceuticals.

The Dow Jones average fell 51.29, or 0.6 percent, to 8,025.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 8.72, or 1 percent, to 857.51, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.88, or 0.9 percent, to 1,679.41.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2009)