Stocks down after the rallyMajor gauges retreat following previous session's big advance sparked by the Federal Reserve's decision, statement; Motorola slides; oil prices jump.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Thursday morning as investors showed caution amid rising oil prices and Motorola's profit warning, following the previous session's big Federal Reserve-inspired rally. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 4.16 to 12,443.36, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (down 0.78 to 1,434.26, Charts) index both lost a few points in the early going. The Nasdaq (down 5.42 to 2,450.50, Charts) composite lost 0.4 percent. All three major gauges surged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates steady at 5.25 percent, as expected, and seemed to hint the bank was more likely to cut rates than raise them in the near future. Late Wednesday, Motorola (down $0.87 to $17.87, Charts) warned that it will post a first-quarter loss and that its revenue will miss forecasts, owing to weak sales of mobile devices. The company also said that its chief financial officer would retire effective April 1. Shares declined. On Thursday morning, KB Home (Charts) reported a steep decline in quarterly profit, reflecting the slowdown in the housing market. Nonetheless, the homebuilder's earnings per share topped analysts' forecasts and the stock rose. Investors also eyed the weekly jobless claims report, which showed a surprise decline. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to about 4.55 percent from 4.54 percent from late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and yen. U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.51 to $61.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Subprime: the risk to Wall Street |
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