U.S. stocks give up an early gain and turn lower

3/13/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wall-Street-595

    Trader Mario Innella, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 13, 2014. Stocks opened higher as traders were encouraged by a pickup in retail sales and more signs of health in the U.S. job market. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks are turning lower in midday trading after giving up an early gain.

    The decline puts the Dow Jones industrial average on course for its fourth loss in a row.

    As of noon Thursday the Dow was down 64 points, or 0.4 percent, at 16,276.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell five points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,862. The Nasdaq composite fell 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,306.

    Dollar General fell 2 percent after the company reported that its fourth-quarter earnings took a hit from harsh winter storms.

    Amazon rose 2.4 percent after the company raised the price of its popular Prime membership to $99 per year.

    Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.70 percent from 2.73 percent late Wednesday.