NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks hit new five-month lows Tuesday amid the overhang of Iraq, weakness among airline issues and earnings warnings from several sectors.

While stocks could see a little bounce at the open Wednesday on all the selling, there's little on the day's agenda to suggest any turnaround in sentiment, which means more drifting for the major indexes.

After the close of trade, women's clothing retailer AnnTaylor (ANN: Research, Estimates) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 35 cents per share, in line with estimates and 7 cents better than a year earlier. However, the company warned that first-quarter earnings will miss current estimates.

Wednesday brings reports from Foot Locker (Z: up $0.12 to $10.15, Research, Estimates) and Talbots (TLB: down $0.41 to $23.02, Research, Estimates), as well as an economic report on the January trade deficit.

It also brings investors closer to a potential vote on a new U.N. resolution on Iraq's disarmament responsibilities, which some analysts are expecting Thursday.

Stocks were dragged higher and lower throughout Tuesday's session on signs that a potential war could be delayed, pending the adoption of a new U.N. resolution regarding Iraq's disarmament, as well as the latest corporate developments. Among the day's troubles: warnings from Maytag and Nokia and heavy selling of airline stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 44.12 to 7524.06, Charts), Nasdaq composite (down 6.90 to 1271.47, Charts) and the S&P 500 index (down 6.75 to 800.73, Charts) all closed modestly lower, hitting levels not seen since mid-October.

Stocks have been sliding for months on fears about a war with Iraq and more recently, the possibility that the United States and Britain may go forward with military action without the support of the U.N. Security Council. Some of these worries were abated earlier Tuesday as the differing members of the Security Council seemed willing to find a compromise that would require Iraq's disarmament but would allow for more time.

Washington and London were reportedly considering changing the language of a new resolution that instead of setting a March 17 deadline, after which a military attack on Iraq could occur, would set a series of benchmarks for Baghdad's disarmament compliance. Separately, six undecided members of the U.N. Security Council were working on a proposal giving Iraq 45 days to meet disarmament requirements. (For the latest developments related to Iraq, go to CNN.com.)

However, relief was unsustainable as the market faced the pressure of a weakened U.S. economy and more corporate negativity.

"They tried to mount a rally on hopes that a delay in the [Iraq] deadline would help, but I don't see how it would. This war is going to happen. It's just a matter of when," said Jack Baker, head of equities at Putnam Lovell Securities. "The deepness of the problem with the stock market right now is much more rooted in the economy and fundamentals than anything else."

Airline shares were hit hard amid the war talk, particularly after industry representatives said that a war with Iraq could cost thousands of jobs and billions in lost sales. American Airlines parent AMR (AMR: down $0.82 to $1.59, Research, Estimates) lost 34 percent, although it was also subject to bankruptcy worries, while Delta Airlines (DAL: down $1.91 to $6.75, Research, Estimates) lost 22 percent, pushing the Dow Transportation index down 2 percent.

A warning from home appliance maker Maytag and cell phone maker Nokia added to the negativity.

"You have a lot of things going on. The Dow Transportation average is putting a real damper on things, and Maytag's warning is hurting retailers," said Peter Green, market analyst at MKM Partners. "Talk of a delay for any potential conflict, let alone 45 days, is not helping stocks as it just increases the uncertainty."

In the early afternoon, the country's third largest appliance maker, Maytag (MYG: down $3.57 to $18.87, Research, Estimates), warned that its first-quarter revenue and earnings will miss estimates due to deteriorating sales in February, particularly in its Hoover unit. Trading in the stock was halted before the news, and it fell almost 16 percent when trading reopened.

And it wasn't the only company to issue a warning Tuesday.

Nokia (NOK: up $0.23 to $12.90, Research, Estimates), the Finnish wireless phone maker, warned overnight that its first-quarter revenue and earnings would not meet previously set estimates. Nokia blamed poor network sales and consumers' reluctance to buy fancy color-screen cell phones in lean times. Nokia stock had fallen sharply in Europe immediately after the announcement, but the firm's American depositary receipts (ADRs) recovered in U.S. trading.

Ford Motor Co. (F: down $0.39 to $6.60, Research, Estimates) was also among the losers. The stock shed about 5.5 percent after news reached investors that the company's president and chief operating officer was under internal investigation for allegedly steering business to WPP Group, an international advertising agency that handles most of the automaker's accounts.

The pressure spilled over into other automakers, including Dow component General Motors (GM: down $0.76 to $29.92, Research, Estimates), which lost more than 2 percent.

The stock of King Pharmaceuticals (KG: down $3.73 to $12.17, Research, Estimates) lost 23 percent and was among the New York Stock Exchange's most actively traded issues after the company said it was being investigated by U.S. securities regulators.

Bond yields remained near 44-year lows. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 4/32 of a point to 102-14/32 in price, its yield at 3.58 percent, barely away from the 3.54 percent low it hit in October. The dollar rose slightly against both the euro and the yen.

Market breadth was negative in fairly light trade. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 9 to 7 as 1.36 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners narrowly edged advancers as 1.22 billion shares traded.

Among key commodity markets, oil prices edged lower, with light sweet crude falling 55 cents to $36.72 a barrel in New York as members of OPEC agreed to keep supply limits in place. Gold tumbled $4.20 to $350.60 an ounce in New York.