Dow slides, day 2

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Dow Jones industrial average slumped for a second session Thursday, amid rising oil prices, a jump in Treasury bond yields and the latest news of geopolitical unrest in the Middle East.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 55.12 to 12,683.29, Charts) lost 0.4 percent, according to early tallies, while the broader S&P 500 (down 1.30 to 1,456.33, Charts) index lost just over 1 point.

The Nasdaq (up 5.81 to 2,524.23, Charts) composite added a few points and closed at a fresh six-year high for the third day in a row.

Oil prices rose. Treasury bond prices slumped, raising the corresponding yields.

The dollar gained versus other major currencies.

Here's a look at what was moving near the close.

Technology shares had risen in the morning, thanks to upbeat earnings from chip maker Analog Devices and the end of Cisco and Apple's trademark dispute. A merger in the grocery sector had added to the market's early strength.

But the advance wilted as the day wore on. Stocks were pressured by rising oil prices amid a surprise dip in weekly energy inventories and a U.N. report that Iran has missed the deadline to suspend nuclear activities.

Also adding to the geopolitical jitters: reports of Syrian troops gathering at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region, sparking worries about the potential for a war.

The geopolitical news is probably "what the market has been reacting to today and what oil is reacting to now," said David Briggs, head of equity trading at Federated Investors.

However, news that Iran is not complying with the U.N. was not particularly surprising, he added, and the stock sell-off may just reflect investors getting a little antsy after the recent advance.

Concerns about inflation sent blue chips lower Wednesday, too, one session after the Dow closed at a record high and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at six-year highs.

Blue chips led the downturn, with 27 out of 30 Dow components falling. Losers included Hewlett-Packard (down $0.30 to $40.80, Charts), Merck (down $0.76 to $43.19, Charts) and General Motors (down $0.81 to $34.56, Charts).

Whole Foods (up $6.41 to $52.11, Charts) said late Wednesday that it will buy rival Wild Oats Markets (up $2.69 to $18.41, Charts) for around $565 million in cash. The deal sent both Whole Foods and Wild Oats stock higher Thursday in active Nasdaq trading.

Cisco (up $0.02 to $27.40, Charts) and Apple Computer (up $0.31 to $89.51, Charts) said late Wednesday that they have reached an agreement so that both can use the iPhone name. The stocks were little changed in the afternoon, giving back morning gains. (Full story).

Analog Devices (up $3.65 to $36.97, Charts) rallied 10 percent after the maker of signal processors posted a higher than expected quarterly profit late Wednesday and issued an upbeat current-quarter forecast.

A number of Analog competitors rose, too, including Texas Instruments (up $1.04 to $32.02, Charts) and Linear Technology (up $3.00 to $34.37, Charts).

Fellow chip maker National Semiconductor (up $1.74 to $25.39, Charts) rallied on a Morgan Stanley upgrade, Briefing.com reported.

Toll Brothers (down $0.96 to $31.90, Charts) reported sharply lower fiscal first-quarter profit, reflecting the ongoing collapse of the housing market. The largest U.S. builder of luxury homes also lowered its fiscal 2007 forecast. Shares fell in the afternoon after seesawing in the morning.

A variety of homebuilding stocks declined in response to Toll Brothers, including Centex (down $1.17 to $49.48, Charts) and Hovnanian (Charts).

JC Penney (down $2.79 to $83.56, Charts) shares slipped after forecasting first-quarter earnings that are short of forecasts. The department store chain also reported improved fourth-quarter earnings, but investors focused on the outlook.

In other news, a U.S. federal jury ruled that Microsoft (up $0.04 to $29.39, Charts) infringed on audio patents held by Alcatel-Lucent (up $0.11 to $13.18, Charts) and should pay $1.52 billion in damages.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 9 to 7 on volume of 1.25 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a slim margin on volume of 1.77 billion shares.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.74 percent from 4.68 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 88 cents to $60.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the weekly oil inventories report showed a large drop in gasoline and oil inventories.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $1 to settle at $683 an ounce.

In other news, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week fell 27,000 to 332,000, a smaller than expected decline.

The next YouTube: 25 startups to watch

Earnings slowdown: Blame energy

More on the markets

More on investing