Profit-Takers Reign As Dow Falls 130 Points; Other Market Indicators Also Tumble
Stock prices retreated today as bouts of profit-taking and nerves sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 130.31 points to 7890.46.</br></br>Although traders said today's drop did not signal a major shift in market sentiment, the blue-chip average slipped below the 8000 milestone it had first reached in giddy trading Wednesday, and gave up its gains for the week.</br></br>"On top of the past couple of weeks we've had, I can't complain about today," said John T. Wilson, who manages $5 billion for State Street Research in Boston, including the firm's flagship $1.8 billion State Street Research Investment Trust.</br></br>Bond prices dropped in morning trading, setting the downward tone for stocks. Mickey Levy, chief economist at NationsBanc Capital Markets in New York, said that although new economic reports showed increases in both consumer confidence and the U.S. trade deficit, he believed the sell-off was simply sparked by profit-taking.</br></br>The yield on the Treasury's 30-year benchmark bond rose to 6.53 percent from 6.49 percent on Thursday, while its price fell $5.31 per $1,000 in face value.