Stocks continue to retreat after big January gains
BY Wire reports
Friday, February 08, 2013
2/08/13 at 4:58 AM
Stocks slumped Thursday, and the rally that pushed indexes almost to record levels last week has stalled.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42 points to 13,944. The index has edged lower this week after logging its best January in almost two decades.
The Standard and Poor's 500 fell three points to 1,509 and the Nasdaq composite dropped three points to 3,165.
"We had such a big January, some type of weakness, or consolidation, make sense here to us," said Ryan Detrick of Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.
Worries about Europe overshadowed healthier signs for the U.S. economy. Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs are easing. Applications for benefits fell 5,000 to 366,000.
