Stocks retreat on economic concerns

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks declined Thursday after a report showed an unexpected drop in manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 37.82 to 12,426.05, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 index (down 5.38 to 1,418.15, Charts) both fell about 0.4 percent with less than an hour left in the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 12.51 to 2,415.10, Charts) lost 0.5 percent.

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Stocks were flat early in the session but turned lower around midday after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's monthly survey posted a big decline in December.

The index on regional factory activity - which fell to a negative 4.3 in December, versus forecasts for a positive 4.0 reading - brought investors' attention back to the health of the economy.

The Philly Fed survey signals a slowdown, said Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons. "It wouldn't surprise me if some of the regional surveys ahead show very modest growth," he added.

Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker also issued a warning about inflation, saying it remains the top risk to the economy.

Investors - from the looks of the bond market, at least - were more focused on the signs of economic cooling. Treasury prices jumped, lowering corresponding yields.

Also on the economic front, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at a slower pace in the third quarter than previously estimated. (Full story)

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 315,000 last week, exactly as predicted.

And the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators inched up 0.1 percent to 138.2 in November, also meeting expectations on Wall Street.

Of the 30 shares in the Dow, 24 fell and 6 rose. The biggest losers were economically sensitive stocks, including Alcoa (down $0.78 to $29.26, Charts) and Caterpillar (down $0.61 to $60.76, Charts).

The Dow transports average, down 1 percent, extended the previous session's losses amid a disappointing outlook FedEx (down $2.68 to $109.17, Charts) gave Wednesday.

Best Buy (up $0.73 to $49.09, Charts) shares jumped nearly 2 percent after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the electronics retailer to "outperform" from "neutral."

Jabil Circuit (down $2.47 to $24.09, Charts), an electronics contract manufacturer, sank 9 percent. The company late Wednesday issued a disappointing sales outlook for the current period.

Bed Bath & Beyond (down $1.44 to $38.49, Charts) also disappointed investors with its quarterly earnings report released after the market close Wednesday. The home goods retailer reported a higher quarterly profit, but the results fell short of forecasts. Shares tumbled almost 4 percent.

Ohio-based regional bank Huntington Bancshares (Charts) announced late Wednesday it had agreed to buy another Ohio-based regional bank, Sky Financial Group (up $3.39 to $27.68, Charts), for $3.6 billion. Sky shares surged 14 percent.

The Amex Oil index (down $10.47 to $1,188.49, Charts) slid about 1 percent and the Amex Gold Bugs index (down $6.18 to $328.62, Charts) dipped 2 percent amid a decline in commodities prices.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a margin of 5 to 3 on volume of 997 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 as 1.4 billion shares changed hands.

U.S. light crude oil for February delivery sank $1.07 to $62.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.55 percent from 4.59 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar edged higher against the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold lost $2.70 to $621.60 an ounce.

In global trade, Asian stocks closed mostly lower, although Japan's Nikkei posted a gain. Stocks in Europe finished mixed.

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