Stocks lower as major indexes retreat from recent record highs

NEW YORK - Rising bond yields and a string of weak company reports and forecasts pushed stocks lower Wednesday as major indexes retreated from their recent record highs. Industrial and technology companies along with banks fared the worst.

Companies including telecom giant AT&T, aerospace company Boeing, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, and credit card issuer Discover Financial Services all gave shaky results, disappointing forecasts, or both. That sent stocks downward, and in early afternoon trading the Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 190 points, after setting a record the day before. Stocks recovered some of their losses in afternoon trading, but all 11 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished the day lower.

The S&P 500 shed 11.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,557.15. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 112.30 points, or 0.5 percent, to 23,329.46. The Nasdaq composite sank 34.54 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,563.89. The Russell 2000 index, which is comprised of smaller-company stocks, dropped 6.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,493.48.

Despite the gains in aircraft sales, a solid third-quarter report, and a boost in its profit forecast, Boeing stock slumped $7.58, or 2.8 percent, to $258.42 Wednesday. It has almost doubled in value in the last 12 months. Elsewhere in the industrial sector, defense contractor General Dynamics lost $4.83, or 2.3 percent, to $207.25. The company's technology and marine systems businesses reported lower sales compared to a year ago, falling far short of estimates.

General Electric declined for the third day in a row and finished at a 41/2-year low as it lost 39 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $21.50.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices dropped $1.92, or 13.5 percent, to $12.33 after its fourth-quarter forecasts disappointed investors. Network equipment maker Juniper Networks also issued a mediocre forecast and its stock lost $1.60, or 6.1 percent, to $24.56.

AT&T lost $1.37, or 3.9 percent, to $33.49 after it reported a smaller profit and less revenue than Wall Street expected in the third quarter. Dr Pepper Snapple tumbled $4.19, or 4.7 percent, to $85.52. The 7UP maker's profit and sales were weaker than expected. Discover Financial Services lost $2.24, or 3.3 percent, to $65.15 as the credit card issuer and lender set aside more money to cover potential losses on bad loans.

Benchmark U.S. crude shed 29 cents to $52.18 a barrel in New York.

Gold inched up 70 cents to $1,279 an ounce. Silver lost 4 cents to $16.93 an ounce. Copper fell 2 cents to $3.18 a pound.

The dollar rose to 113.72 yen from 113.58 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1807 from $1.1788. The British pound rose to $1.3255 from $1.3136.