Dow off 119
over profit worry

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average slid more than 100 points today as mounting skepticism about continued profit growth overshadowed some encouraging inflation news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which started the day with a 55-point gain, closed down 119.10 points, or nearly 1.5 percent, to 7,938.88, after recovering from a 161-point plunge. The barometer of 30 big companies hasn't been below 8,000 since Oct. 1.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 12-to-7 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,072 up, 1,827 down and 526 unchanged.
NYSE volume was 595.98 million shares vs. 504.68 million yesterday.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 10.47 to 955.25 after recovering partially from a 15-point drop, and the NYSE composite index fell 4.59 to 502.30.
The Nasdaq composite index, down as much as 31 points during the session, fell 23.71 to 1,699.66.
The Russell 2000 fell 5.58 to 457.16 for its third consecutive losing session, and the small-company dominated American Stock Exchange composite index fell 5.96 to 708.38.
Sears Roebuck and Merck led the slide, falling the equivalent of 40 Dow points after the release of their latest earnings reports.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 2/32 point in face value late this afternoon, while its yield was 6.39 percent.
Broader stock measures turned lower amid strength in the bond market after this morning's report that retail inflation remained subdued in September despite another sharp increase in energy costs.