US stocks fall for 4th straight day

Trader Kevin Lodewick, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, in New York. Wall Street stocks dropped Wednesday on a bruising day for global markets following a disappointing US retail sales report and a weak global economic forecast from the World Bank. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK–Wall Street stocks dropped Wednesday on a bruising day for global markets following a disappointing US retail sales report and a weak global economic forecast from the World Bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 186.59 points (1.06 percent) to 17,427.09, falling for the fourth straight day.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 11.76 (0.58 percent) to 2,011.27 after earlier slipping below 2,000, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 22.18 (0.48 percent) to 4,639.32.

US stocks were in the red all day, but rallied somewhat after crude oil prices closed higher and after a Federal Reserve report characterized the United States economy as broadly expanding.

European equity markets had also fallen sharply.

Key drivers of Wednesday’s sell-off included a cut in the World Bank’s 2015 economic forecast and a 0.9 percent drop in US retail sales in December.

“There’s just a lot of concern in terms of global growth,” said William Lynch director of investment, Hinsdale Associates.

Dow member JPMorgan Chase fell 3.5 percent after reporting a 6.6 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings to $4.9 billion following $1 billion in legal expenses. The results fell short of expectations.

Wells Fargo lost 1.2 percent after notching earnings of $1.02 per share, matching expectations.

Bank of America and Citigroup, both of which report earnings Thursday, fell 2.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

General Motors fell 2.7 percent after it said it spent nearly $2 billion for recalls and victims’ compensation in 2014.

The biggest US automaker projected improved earnings and margins in 2015 behind “modest” growth in overall auto sales worldwide.

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors sank 5.7 percent after founder and chief executive Elon Musk acknowledged lower fuel costs threaten the electric car industry and said the company probably will not be profitable until 2020.

Metals producers suffered as copper prices fell sharply. Freeport-McMoran slumped 10.9 percent, while Southern Copper lost 3.7 percent.

Retail stocks retreated, including Dow member Wal-Mart Stores (-3.0 percent), Target (-2.1 percent) and TJX (-1.4 percent), owner of Marshall’s and other discount chains.

Bond prices rose. The yield, which moves inversely to price, on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.84 percent from 1.90 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.46 percent from 2.50 percent after earlier sliding to a record low of 2.39 percent.