NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Blue-chips dipped near midday Thursday, retreating after a four-day advance, but the tech sector managed to stabilize after a shaky morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 27.22 to 11,516.10, Charts) lost around 0.2 percent about 2-1/2 hours into the session, hurt by downgrades of components GE and Boeing.

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The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 2.99 to 1,315.08, Charts) index also lost about 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite (down 1.34 to 2,226.33, Charts) was the strongest of the three.

The recent rally left the major market gauges at four-month highs by the end of Wednesday's session - leaving the Dow about 180 points from its record high of 11,722.98, hit on Jan. 14, 2000.

After such a run, stocks were a bit vulnerable Thursday morning. But the mood on Wall Street seemed to improve a bit heading into midday.

Retail sales rose just 0.2 percent last month after jumping 1.4 percent in July, the government reported, as higher oil and gas prices and increased worries about the economy during the month cut into consumer spending.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought sales would fall 0.2 percent.

Sales excluding autos rose 0.2 percent in the month, after rising 1 percent in July. That was short of forecasts for a rise of 0.3 percent.

"I think the report is consistent with a moderate trend for consumer spending growth," said Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. "July numbers were inflated by auto sales, so this number gets us closer to the broader trend."

He said that the reaction in both stock and bond markets Thursday was muted because the report doesn't shake up expectations about the economy. It also doesn't change bets that the Federal Reserve won't have to restart its rate-hiking campaign anytime soon.

Investors were also gearing up for Friday's report on consumer prices, a key reading on inflation, ahead of next week's Fed policy meeting.

Dow Components Boeing (down $1.04 to $75.28, Charts) and General Electric (down $0.28 to $34.56, Charts) both slipped after they were downgraded by UBS.

The brokerage lowered Boeing to "reduce" from "buy" on worries about how an economic slowdown will impact its orders. UBS cut GE to "neutral" from "buy," on concerns about slowing earnings at its NBC television network, higher tax rates and an eventual slowdown in aerospace orders.

Separately, GE said it was selling its advanced materials unit to private equity firm Apollo Management for $3.8 billion.

Other Dow decliners included Home Depot (down $0.54 to $36.63, Charts) and Honeywell (down $0.28 to $38.98, Charts), two of the economically sensitive issues that had risen most during the recent rally.

Microsoft and DuPont were among the Dow's gainers, helping to protect the blue-chip barometer from bigger losses.

Ford Motor (down $0.22 to $8.97, Charts) sank nearly 3 percent after a Detroit News report said overall losses in 2006 could total $9 billion.

Bear Stearns (up $0.08 to $136.30, Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that rose from a year ago and topped estimates. But the stock stalled near after several up days for the bank sector.

XM Satellite Radio (up $1.33 to $13.84, Charts) jumped 9 percent in active Nasdaq trade after Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded it to "outperform" from "neutral," saying the company's recent lowering of its subscriber growth outlook makes its goals more realistic. Rival Sirius Satellite Radio (up $0.09 to $4.12, Charts) gained too.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners three to two on volume of 550 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers eight to five on volume of 800 million shares.

U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell 22 cents to $63.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery fell $4.50 to $591.80 an ounce.

Treasury prices were barely lower, with the yield on the 10-year note at 4.76 percent, little changed from late Thursday.

In currency trading, the dollar fell against the euro and edged lower versus the yen.

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