After the rally, a retreat for stocks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Thursday morning as investors showed caution after Motorola's profit warning and with oil prices rising - after the previous day's big Federal Reserve-inspired rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 24.67 to 12,422.85, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (down 1.80 to 1,433.24, Charts) index both lost about 0.2 percent about 90 minutes into the session. The Nasdaq (down 9.89 to 2,446.03, Charts) composite lost 0.5 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 future.

Late Wednesday, Motorola warned that it will post a first-quarter loss and that full-year sales will miss forecasts, owing to weak sales of mobile devices. The company also said its chief financial officer would retire effective April 1. Motorola (down $0.97 to $17.76, Charts) shares slid 5 percent.

Palm (down $1.90 to $17.55, Charts) slumped too on bets that Motorola's problems make it less likely the mobile phone maker will buy the handheld device maker, as has been rumored.

On Thursday morning, KB Home (Charts) said profits tumbled 84 percent, reflecting the slowdown in the housing market. Nonetheless, the homebuilder's earnings per share topped analysts' forecasts and the stock rose.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery jumped $1.59 to $61.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

That gave a lift to energy stocks including Exxon Mobil (up $0.95 to $74.18, Charts), Sunoco (up $0.98 to $70.37, Charts) and ConocoPhillips (up $0.96 to $68.14, Charts).

COMEX gold for April delivery added $4.20 to $664.20 an ounce.

Investors also eyed the weekly jobless claims report, which showed a surprise decline.

A separate report, the index of leading economic indicators, declined 0.5 percent in February after sliding 0.3 percent in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would fall 0.3 percent.

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 rose modestly versus the euro and yen.

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