NEW YORK >> Investors' growing skepticism about the stock market's autumn rally sent prices falling again today, setting Wall Street up for its second straight losing week. Stocks fall
on profit takingBy Amy Baldwin
Associated PressThe selling extended yesterday's decline.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers about 9 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was light as it had been all week.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 104.55, or 1.2 percent, at 8,454.28. The Dow lost 50.74 in yesterday's session. The Dow ended the week off 2.5 percent.
The broader market was also lower. The Nasdaq composite index fell 36.97, or 2.6 percent, to 1,362.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 12.09, or 1.3 percent, to 889.50. The Russell 2000 index fell 7.37, or 1.9 percent, to 388.01.
For the week, the Russell fell 2.2 percent, the Nasdaq fell 4.2 percent and the S&P lost 2.5 percent.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was down 3/8 point today, while its yield rose to 4.07 percent from 4.03 percent yesterday. The price of two-year Treasury notes was unchanged and their yield held at 1.84 percent.
The selloff was attributable to investors worrying over whether the October-November runup was another bear market rally that fooled them into buying stocks.
Still, analysts said the market was showing resilience not seen for most of the bear market. Much of the fall rally, which saw the indexes surging off five- and six-year lows, has been left intact.
The Dow is 15.8 percent above the five-year low of 7,286.27 it made in early October. The Nasdaq is 22.3 percent above its six-year low and the S&P is 14.5 percent above its six-year low.
Economic news was mixed today.
Wholesale prices as measured by the Producer Price Index fell by 0.4 percent in November. Falling wholesale prices -- assuming they show up in lower retail prices -- are one of the few benefits for consumers during a weak economy. But businesses whose product prices are declining can feel even more pressure on already strained profit margins.
In another report, the Commerce Department said businesses boosted inventories by 0.2 percent in October from the previous month, a sign that businesses were betting that there would be demand for their products.
The University of Michigan reported consumer sentiment rose in the early part of December to 87.0 from November's 84.2 reading. Economist had expected a reading of 85.0.
Wall Street's losses were widespread. General Motors fell 92 cents to $36.52, Wal-Mart declined 84 cents to $50.54, and Citigroup stumbled 62 cents to $36.
Cirrus Logic fell $1.18 to $3.08 after cutting its third-quarter revenue outlook.
Coca-Cola slipped 2 cents to $45.85 after reaffirming its 2002 profit expectations. However, the company also announced it will no longer release quarterly and annual outlooks.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 2.2 percent. In Europe, France's CAC-40 fell 1.9 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.5 percent, and Germany's DAX index declined 1.1 percent.
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