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New York • U.S. stocks retreated in midmorning trading Thursday, pulling back from a massive rally the day before. Gap plunged after the company announced its CEO was retiring, and energy stocks fell as the price of oil fell again.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 116 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,876 as of 9:02 a.m. Mountain time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,955 and the Nasdaq composite lost 29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,440.
STEP BACK: Triple-digit swings in the U.S. stock market have become common in recent days. Just this week, the Dow jumped 274 points Wednesday, reversing a 272-point decline on Tuesday. The Dow is now down 0.9 percent for the week.
GLOBAL GROWTH: Once again, the economic news out of Europe was disappointing. Germany's exports sank 5.8 percent in August; the biggest monthly drop in five years. The figure raises concerns that Europe's largest economy may fall into recession. The IMF cut its outlook for this year and next for the global economy, citing weakness in Japan, Latin America and particularly Europe.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 69 cents to $87.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, continuing its multi-week decline. On Wednesday, the contract dropped $1.54 to an 18-month low of $87.31 following news of lower global demand and high supplies.
Energy stocks were once again pulled lower by lower oil prices. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the nation's two largest oil and gas companies, each fell 2 percent. Exxon Mobil lost $1.69 to $92.92 and Chevron fell $2.19 to $115.77.
CLEARANCE: Gap dropped $5.06, or 12 percent, to $36.84. The clothing chain's CEO Glenn Murphy announced he would step down in February. The news came as a surprise to investors, since Murphy is only 52 and was expected to continue in his role for several more years. Murphy was credited for helping Gap navigate through the Great Recession and restoring the company's appeal to younger customers.
ANOTHER CEO EXIT: Advanced Micro Devices, better known as AMD, fell 23 cents, or 7 percent, to $3.05. The chipmaker also announced a change in leadership, saying CEO and president Rory Read was stepping down. AMD has long struggled to keep its market share of the PC chip market against its main competitor Intel.
CURRENCIES AND BONDS: The dollar declined to 107.69 yen and the euro rose to $1.2769. U.S. government bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.32 percent.