U.S. stocks were lower for a fifth day Thursday, as investors continued to fret about Greece”s future in the euro-zone.

The Dow Jones Industrials closed down 156.06 points, or 1.2%, to 12,442.50

The S&P 500 demurred 19.94 points to 1,304.86. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index capsized 60.35 to 2,813.69.

Retail giants Wal-Mart and Sears Holdings were among the biggest gainers. Wal-Mart, the nation”s largest retailer, posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales.

Rival Sears also reported a profit, even as sales declined, thanks to a boost from selling real estate assets. The retailer also announced it was looking at a partial spinoff of its Canadian operations.

Other retailers due to report results Thursday include Gap and Aeropostale, both due after the closing bell.

Also reporting after the close is Applied Materials, the manufacturer of chip making equipment, whose earnings are forecast to decline.

But the big tech news after the market close will come from Facebook, which is expected to price its initial public offering. Trading will begin Friday.

The social networking site upped the target price range for its stock earlier this week to between $34 and $38 U.S. per share. It announced Wednesday that 25% more shares of the company will be sold than previously announced.

The additional shares, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could fetch an extra $3 billion U.S. — bringing the total raised through Facebook”s offering to as much as $16 billion U.S., making it the most valuable tech IPO in history.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase fell Thursday, a day after the director of the FBI confirmed his agency had launched an initial investigation into a $2-billion U.S. trading loss suffered by the bank.

Meanwhile, concerns about Greece”s future in the euro-zone continued to weigh on investors.

European leaders voiced support Wednesday for keeping Greece in the euro-zone, but cautioned the debt-ridden country must stick with unpopular austerity measures if Greece is going to continue to receive help. A new vote is set for June 17.

Greek voters rebelled against those measures in the May 6 elections, denying the ruling coalition — which had agreed to the bailout terms — the votes needed to form a new government. Greek voters will go to the polls again on June 17.

Though the ability to form a governing coalition remains uncertain, the main fear is that an anti-austerity ruling party could cause the bailout deal to unravel, leading to a Greek default and an exit from the euro.

Citing the “heightened risk that Greece may not be able to sustain its membership of Economic and Monetary Union,” Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece”s credit rating by one notch to CCC.

Adding to those concerns, the European Central Bank has suspended its lending to some Greek banks that need to sufficiently boost their capital.

Meanwhile, a growing number of depositors are withdrawing their money amid worries that their savings could be converted to a devalued currency if Greece drops the euro.

Economically speaking, initial jobless claims were unchanged in the week ended May 12 from the revised figure of 370,000. The number came in weaker than expected.

A Philadelphia Fed report showed that regional manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in May for the first time in eight months. The Philly Fed index fell to -5.8 from 8.5 in April. Economists were expecting the index to increase to 8.8. Any reading below zero indicates weakness.

Elsewhere, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the economy”s performance over the next three to six months, was also discouraging. The index fell 0.1% in April, disappointing economists who expected it to rise 0.2%.

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, pushing the yield down to 1.70% from Wednesday”s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The price of a barrel of oil fell moved back 52 cents to $92.29 U.S.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $37.10 to settle at $1,573.70 U.S. an ounce.

In New York, with little on the economic or corporate docket, investors opted for a wait-and-see stance Monday, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting and economic reports due later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrials gained 37.69 points to finish at 12,959.70 Read More

In New York, investors were taking a giant step back Tuesday but stocks have had a pretty strong year so far so the retreat isn’t ringing any alarm bells.

Strong Chinese growth has been an important prop for a global economy still struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, and that growth has also supported higher commodity prices and rising stock prices. Read More

In New York, stocks declined Monday, following the path of world markets, after China reduced its economic growth outlook and as data showed that euro-zone business activity fell back into contraction in February.

China’s economy grew by 9.2% last year, down from 10.3% in 2010 as the government tries to gradually slow growth and tame high inflation. In addition, many local governments are wracked with debt and with Europe in crisis and the U.S. recovery fragile, demand for Chinese exports is weakening. Read More

In New York, stocks were fairly mixed Monday after a better-than-expected report on the housing market offset concerns about the debt crisis in Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrials ended a seesaw kind of day down 1.44 points to 12,981.50 Read More

In New York, stocks were mixed Friday, with the Dow and S&P holding near the highest levels since 2008, as investors digested reports on consumer sentiment and home sales.

The Dow Jones Industrials were negative 1.74 points to end the day and the week at 12,983, after briefly being perched above the psychologically-important 13,000 mark. Read More

In New York, stocks have largely glided higher for most of 2012, but as investors grew concerned over Greece’s ongoing debt drama, all three indexes dropped Friday, pushing them into negative territory for the week. Read More

On Wall Street, stocks slipped, as investors anxiously await a Greek government decision on budget cuts that are considered the keys to securing a second bailout and avoiding default. Read More

On Wall Street, stocks recovered most of their lost ground Monday afternoon but struggled to pull out of the red as concerns over Greece continued to weigh on the market. Read More

Stocks on Wall Street were mostly lower Friday as jittery investors digested a weaker-than-expected economic growth report and as Europe’s debt crisis still loomed in the background.

The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 74.17 points to 12,660.50, a decline of 60 points on the week.

The S&P 500 sank 2.11 points to 1,316.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq picked up 11.27 to 2,816.55

While the Nasdaq logged a fourth straight week of gains, the day’s declines in the Dow and S&P put the indexes in negative territory for the week.

Earnings reports were also weighing on the market on Friday.

Chevron was the worst performing stock on the Dow. Shares sank 3% after the company posted its biggest drop in quarterly earnings in two years and widely missed Wall Street’s estimates.

Procter & Gamble was also a big decliner on the blue chip index. Shares of the maker of Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and Pringles snacks fell after the company lowered its outlook for the year.

A 5% drop in shares of DeVry was a big factor in the S&P 500′s slide. The for-profit educator’s earnings plunged 90% and undergraduate enrollment continued to decline.

Starbucks was a big loser on the Nasdaq. While the coffee chain beat forecasts with strong earnings and revenue in its fourth quarter, shares slipped as investors were underwhelmed by the company’s profit outlook for the future.

Ford, aided by a one-time gain, posted 2011 profit of $20.2 billion U.S. — its biggest since 1998. But for the quarter alone, earnings missed forecasts, and shares tumbled.

On the flip side, shares of Newell Rubbermaid and Eastman Chemical were big winners on the S&P 500 on the back of strong earnings.

Transocean shares rose after a federal judge cleared the company of some damages related to the Deepwater Horizon spill, because it was shielded by a contract with well-owner BP. BP shares slumped.

Meanwhile, the Social Media ETF spiked almost 3% on news that Facebook is planning to file IPO registration papers next Wednesday, according to the The Wall Street Journal. Shares of social media companies Pandora, Groupon and Zynga also headed higher following the report.

Friday’s slump came as investors reacted to the government’s first reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product.

Investors had been hoping for news that would back up growing optimism about the nation’s economic recovery. Instead, the news seemed to jive with the Federal Reserve’s lower outlook for the economy.

The Fed announced Wednesday that it plans to keep the federal funds rate near zero until late 2014, because the recovery remains too slow to warrant higher interest rates any time soon.

Anxiety also continues to loom over Greece’s ongoing negotiations with private-sector creditors in an attempt to reduce its debt burden. Without an agreement, the country jeopardizes its access to bailout funds and might not be able to make a 14-billion euro debt payment due March 20.

In addition, Fitch downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of five European countries, including Italy and Spain, which took the biggest hits.

On the economic beat, the University of Michigan’s final installment of its January Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 75, up from an initial reading of 74. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 74.2.

The United States economy picked up speed at the end of 2011, growing at an annual rate of 2.8%, as consumers increased their spending. But the data fell short of the 3.2% forecast, based on a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Investors had been hoping for news that would back up growing optimism about the nation’s economic recovery. Instead, the news seems to jive with the Federal Reserve’s lower outlook for the economy.

The Fed announced Wednesday that it plans to keep the federal funds rate near zero until late 2014, because the recovery remains too slow to warrant higher interest rates any time soon.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained ground, lowering yields to 1.90% from Thursday’s 1.93%.

Oil for February delivery was stronger by 21 cents to $99.68 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose $5.50 to $1,732.20 U.S. an ounce.

Article provided by Baystreet.ca.