Weak demand at a Treasury bond auction touched off worries in the stock market Thursday about the government's ability to raise funds to fight the recession.
Stocks fell almost from the start of trading as investors quickly looked past upbeat reports on the job market and retail sales as traders asked "What's next?" and cut back their holdings following what had been a 4.8 percent gain this week in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Analysts said investors are already starting to expect economic numbers that aren't as bad as they had been and are now looking for the next catalyst that could take stocks higher after a surge of more than 30 percent from 12-year lows in early March.
Dow fell 102.43, or 1.2 percent, to 8,409.85 a day after the blue chips jumped 102 points to close above the 8,500 level for the first time in four months. The index is down 4.2 percent for the year.
The S&P 500 index fell 12.14, or 1.3 percent, to 907.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 42.86, or 2.4 percent, to 1,716.24.
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