US stocks look set to drift lower this week as the markets' 11-month rally shows signs of running out of steam.
Investors are looking for fresh reasons to buy stocks and some are concerned the rally has pushed prices too high.
"The stock market hit a new wall of worry," said Frederic Dickson at fund firm D.A. Davidson & Co, as the major indexes racked up small losses this week.
"Aggressive risk takers in the market are beginning to back off and rotate into higher quality stocks or move some high-risk money temporarily into cash," he said.
The major gauges have all hit long-time highs over the past month - with the Dow briefly setting a 32-month high on Thursday - urged on by strong corporate profits and generally positive economic data.
Many investors now believe it is time to reap profits after the run-up and some think a widely anticipated correction, or short-term dip, may be close at hand.
"We have been looking for a cooling-off period for the stock market in February/March ahead of first-quarter earnings releases," Dickson said.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed on Friday at 10,619.03. down 45.70 points, or 0.43 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished down 2.95 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,144.11. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.03 points, or 0.39 percent, to end at 2,037.93.
For the week, the Dow fell 0.08 percent, the S&P 500 fell 0.15 percent and the Nasdaq fell 0.76 percent.
That cut short two weeks of gains for the Dow and S&P 500, and beat the Nasdaq into its fifth losing week in a row.
Not only are stock prices falling. The volume of shares traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq - a powerful indicator of the public's interest in the stock market - has dipped below the 90-day average over the last week or so.
Technical analysts said this is a sign the 11-month rally is starting to lose momentum.
In the coming week, investors will be combing through corporate and economic numbers to find signals to hold on or cash in on more of their gains.
In corporate news, retailers take centre stage as the fourth-quarter earnings period tails off.
Dow component Home Depot Inc, the world's largest home improvement store, reports on Tuesday. On Thursday, companies reporting include leading retailers Gap Inc, J.C. Penney Co Inc, Kohl's Corp and Limited Brands.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who is set to testify on US economic policy before the House Budget Committee in Washington on Wednesday at 10:00 am(1500 GMT), also will keep investors on high alert.
When Greenspan spoke in Washington last week, his hints that the Fed would not raise interest rates any time soon from their 1958 lows, sent stocks spiralling to a 32-month high.
Market-moving economic data is scheduled for later in the week, with durable goods orders and weekly initial jobless claims set for 8:30 am (1330 GMT) on Thursday.
On Friday, preliminary figures for fourth-quarter GDP will be released at 8:30 am (1330 GMT). Economists expect GDP grew at an annualised pace of 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a Reuters poll, compared with 4 percent in the third quarter.
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