Dow record: Hit and run

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average giving up nearly 150 points one session after ending at an all-time high, as investors eyed higher oil prices, weak economic news and lackluster April retail sales.

The Dow (down 147.74 to 13,215.13, Charts) lost 1.1 percent. The broader S&P 500 index (down 21.11 to 1,491.47, Charts) gave up 1.4 percent and the the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (down 42.60 to 2,533.74, Charts) declined 1.7 percent.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the corresponding yields and the dollar gained versus other major currencies. Oil prices rose and gold prices plunged.

Stocks have gained over the last five weeks thanks to first-quarter earnings that have beaten weak forecasts, many corporate deals and mergers, and more stock buyback plans.

The climb left the Dow at an all-time high, the S&P 500 within reach of an all-time high and the Nasdaq at a six-year high.

After such an advance, stocks were vulnerable to a pullback, analysts said, and Thursday's news provided the incentive.

On Thursday morning, the government reported that the March U.S. trade gap widened more than expected and that April U.S. import prices rose more than expected, both because of higher oil and gas prices.

A number of the nation's retailers said April sales were hurt by the impact from higher oil and gas prices - and the fallout in the housing market

In addition, "there are some rumblings you're hearing on Iran and there's also the fact that the markets had a pretty huge rise," said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co.

Officials from the United States and five other nations met Thursday in Berlin to discuss Iran's refusal to comply with U.N. demands that it halt its nuclear program. Yet, concerns about Iran have been ongoing.

Wall Streeters may have also been taking a second look at the previous day's Federal Reserve action and statement, said Bob Gay, managing partner at Fenwick Advisors.

On Wednesday, the Fed held interest rates steady, as expected, and said that it remains more worried about inflation than the pace of economic growth. Following the statement, stocks rallied, with investors perhaps breathing a sigh of relief that the central bank offered no surprises.

However, bonds sold off, on bets that the statement means the Fed is not likely to cut rates anytime soon. That perspective may have spread to stocks Thursday.

"The statement, although totally unchanged, is a bit of an eye opener," said Gay. "It basically says they can't cut rates now because inflation is still too high, when the market was pricing in expectations of a rate cut later this year."

On the flip side, "if they can cut rates later this year it would be because the economy isn't doing well," he said. So overall, the statement wasn't too upbeat for a market looking for reasons to keep rising.

"Until there's a clear sense of the economy perking up sometime later this year, as the markets have been presuming, I think we'll be in a sideways or a skeptical market," he said.

Friday brings the broader national retail sales report for April as well as readings on business inventories and producer prices.

Stock declines were broad based, with 26 out of 30 Dow stocks declining. The biggest losers included Alcoa (down $1.10 to $37.63, Charts, Fortune 500), DuPont (down $1.00 to $50.61, Charts, Fortune 500), Citigroup (down $0.92 to $53.20, Charts, Fortune 500) and JP Morgan Chase (down $1.20 to $52.00, Charts, Fortune 500).

Dow stock Johnson & Johnson (down $1.61 to $62.50, Charts, Fortune 500) lost 2 percent after a U.S. panel of experts said it wants more restrictions on the use of anemia drugs in cancer patients and that it wants more studies done of JNJ's two anemia drugs. The verdict also affected Amgen (down $5.77 to $57.33, Charts, Fortune 500), which produces a competing drug.

A variety of gold, silver, steel and oil stocks slumped as well. Home builders, health care and a variety of tech stocks sank too, reflecting the broad nature of the day's decline.

A number of retailers issued dour April sales reports for stores open a year or more, a retail sector figure known as same-store sales.

Wal-Mart Stores (down $0.18 to $47.75, Charts, Fortune 500) reported that April same-store sales fell 3.5 percent, worse than expected.

Other companies reporting a drop in sales in the month included Federated (down $1.72 to $42.10, Charts, Fortune 500), JC Penney (down $1.41 to $76.80, Charts, Fortune 500), Dillard's (up $0.51 to $35.60, Charts, Fortune 500) and Gap (down $0.15 to $18.28, Charts, Fortune 500). Despite the declines, a number of the stocks rose on the day, protecting the overall market from a steeper selloff.

Whole Foods Market (down $4.65 to $41.15, Charts, Fortune 500) slumped over 10 percent in unusually active Nasdaq trade after the grocery retailer reported weaker quarterly earnings that missed estimates and said that federal regulators have voiced some antitrust concerns about its purchase of Wild Oats Market (down $0.32 to $17.78, Charts).

Viacom (down $0.51 to $41.51, Charts) slipped after the company reported lower quarterly earnings that beat estimates on higher revenue that beat estimates.

Interpublic Group (down $0.93 to $12.01, Charts, Fortune 500) slumped 7.2 percent in active New York Stock Exchange trading after the advertising services company reported a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss.

On the upside, shares of JetBlue Airways (up $0.49 to $10.89, Charts) climbed 4.7 percent after the company pushed out founder David Neeleman as CEO three months after an embarrassing service fallout.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by more than 3 to 1 on volume of 1.54 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a similar margin on volume of 2.27 billion shares.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery rose 26 cents to $61.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for June delivery fell $15.50 to settle at $667 an ounce.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.64 percent from roughly 4.66 percent late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

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