Wall Street Shares Ease - NYTimes.com Wall Street stocks eased on Monday after data showed a decline in European private sector activity last month and a reduced target for China's growth rate. But losses were limited in a sign investors were attracted by cheaper stock values. "You'll probably have some buying on the dips, not too much of a major correction, maybe a slight drift upwards," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com in Shrewsbury, N.J. Materials shares, sensitive to signs of slowing in the commodity-hungry Chinese economy, were the biggest drags in early trading. The Standard & Poor's materials sector index fell 1.8 percent, while the aluminum producer Alcoa fell 3.3 percent. In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell by 0.5 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index lost 1.1 percent. European and Asian stocks closed lower, with shares in euro zone peripheral countries like Italy and Spain among the worst hit, after data showed the region was likely to slide back into recession. European markets were also pressured ahead of Thursday's deadline for Greece and private bondholders to complete a debt swap. Failure to reach agreement would put the country back on the brink of a messy default. Meanwhile, China's premier, Wen Jiabao, cut his nation's 2012 growth target to an eight-year low of 7.5 percent, and put a priority on enhancing consumer demand in hopes of weaning the economy off a reliance on external demand and foreign capital. Hong Kong shares dropped 1.4 percent. Brent crude hovered near $124 a barrel on fears that Iranian sanctions were limiting supplies, offsetting a rise in Iraqi oil production. Investors have worried that a recent rise in prices could stunt economic growth. Chevron fell 0.6 percent, while Exxon Mobil lost 0.3 percent. American International Group is selling part of its stake in AIA Group to raise about $6 billion to help repay a huge federal government bailout. A.I.G. shares gained 2 percent. Last week, the S.&P. 500 and the Nasdaq index notched their eighth week of gains out of the last nine, but momentum ran out on Friday as stocks ended lower in a thinly traded session. The S.&P. 500 has rallied 25 percent since closing lows in October with few pullbacks.