NEW YORK >> Wall Street retreated for a fifth straight day today as investors dumped stocks on worries that disappointing retail sales and United Airlines' threat of bankruptcy would curtail corporate profits. The Dow Jones industrials slid more than 110 points. UAL news, retail sales
depress stock marketBy Hope Yen
Associated Press"The United Airlines news has got the market a little spooked," said Todd Clark, head of listed equity trading at Wells Fargo Securities. "We're seeing weakness in the financial stocks, part of it due to their exposure to United Airlines bonds."
"Retail sales also are not great, so those are the two factors weighing on the market," he said.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Dow dropped 114.57, or 1.3 percent, to close at 8,623.28, for a five-day loss of 308 points. The last time blue-chip stocks dropped five straight days was during the period ended July 12.
The broader market also fell. The Nasdaq composite index fell 19.60, or 1.4 percent, to 1,410.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 11.02, or 1.2 percent, to 906.55. The Russell 2000 index fell 3.08, or 0.8 percent, to 394.45.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 1/8 point, while its yield fell to 4.13 percent from 4.16 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were up 1/32 point and yielded 1.97 percent, down from 1.99 percent yesterday.
UAL plunged $2.12, or 68 percent, to $1 after the federal government rejected United Airlines' request for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee. The decision hurt the company's efforts to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy and prompted Dow Jones & Co. to pull UAL from the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Retailers also took a hit after reporting only modest November sales gains. Discounter Wal-Mart fell $1.42 to $53.02, while Gap dropped 59 cents to $15.59.
Analysts say the market's recent declines are not particularly worrisome following eight weeks of blue-chip gains. They believe hopes for a year-end rally should push the market higher, although concerns about corporate earnings and a war with Iraq could pressure stocks.
"October and November were such strong months, it's not surprising that in December we pulled back a little bit," said Mike Kayes, chief investment officer at Eastover Capital in Charlotte, N.C.
Investors largely ignored a Labor Department report today showing that new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by a seasonally adjusted 13,000 to 355,000. It was the lowest level since February 2001, offering hope to workers as they move into the holiday shopping season.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1 percent lower. In Europe, France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent, while Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 percent and Germany's DAX slid 2.9 percent.
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