NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market were unable to hold onto early gains amid continued concerns about bioterrorism and closed slightly lower in fairly active trading Tuesday
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which jumped 172.92 points Monday, retreated 36.95 points, or 0.4 percent to 9340.08. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which gained 36.77 points in the previous session, shed 3.64 points or 0.2 percent to 1704.44.
The broader New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 2.82 to 558.63, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 5.12 to 1084.78.
The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 1.69 points to 821.34, while the Wilshire 5000 Index slipped 46.94 to 9,995.24 and the Wilshire Smallcap Index fell 4.05 to 648.18.
Big Board volume reached 1.497 billion shares with decliners edging advancers by 15 to 14. Nasdaq volume totaled 1.818 billion shares.
Analysts said prices moved modestly higher in the early going supported by some positive earnings reports, although the gains were limited by the continuing concerns about bioterrorism and the military campaign in Afghanistan.
Experts said the positive mood was restrained by the latest bioterrorism and military developments, as the U.S. Congress gets back to work after the House of Representatives closed for four working days due to the anthrax scare.
In Washington, mail has not been delivered for several days while authorities search the closed central Brentwood mail facility where some postal workers may have contracted anthrax.
Two Brentwood workers died over the weekend, possibly due to anthrax complications, and another two are in serious condition after coming into contact with the substance.
In Afghanistan, the military campaign against the Taliban is intensifying with the addition of about 1,500 Australian troops, and stepped-up U.S.-led air strikes.
Meanwhile, analysts said investors were closely scrutinizing the latest barrage of earnings reports, many of which were in line with -- or better than -- analyst estimates.
Third-quarter earnings of the Standard & Poor's 500 companies are running 2.4 percent higher than analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Of the 500 companies, 235, or 47 percent, have reported earnings for the September quarter. Some 23 percent of those reporting had posted positive surprises, 34 percent reported results that were in line with market expectations, 10 percent reported negative reports and 4 percent reported negative surprises.
Positive and negative surprises include companies that deviated from expectations by at least 5 percent, with adjustments when the numbers are near zero and the percentage difference becomes meaningless.
Positive and negative reports are from companies that deviated by less than 5 percent.
Compared with a year ago, earnings of the S&P 500 are expected to decline 22.4 percent. That figure reflects actual earnings for companies that have already reported, and consensus estimates for the rest.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, retail sales were broadly on or above plan in the U.S. last week.
As a result, Redbook's latest report of national retail sales showed sales rose 1.4 percent in the first two weeks of October. The reading was exactly in line with the target of a 1.4 percent gain.
The report also showed sales climbed 2.3 percent in the week ending Oct. 20, from the same period the year before.
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi-UBS Warburg Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 0.5 percent in the week ended Oct. 20 from the week before, on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis.
Sales were on-to-above plan at national retailers last week, with the pace of sales the strongest since the week ending Aug. 18, BTM said in its weekly report on sales data.
Retailers cited more normal seasonal weather as well as demand for Halloween merchandise as factors for the improvement in sales, the report said.
On a year-over-year basis, sales momentum rose to a 1.6 percent pace for the week ended Oct. 20 compared to 0.9 percent in the prior week.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury prices eased. The 30-year bond slipped 5/32 to 99 23/32. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction of its price, rose to 5.39 percent from 5.38 percent late Monday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan delivered an address to a banking conference early Tuesday in which he praised the U.S. financial system, but gave no insight into the direction of monetary policy.
In Europe, stock prices ended sharply higher in moderate trading in London, Frankfurt and Paris. The London International Stock Exchange's blue-chip FTSE-100 index jumped 115.1 points, or 2.27 percent, to 5,185.5. The German DAX index climbed 116.62 points, or 2.52 percent, to 4,735.94 and the French CAC-40 index rose 114.47 points, or 2.64 percent, to 4,455.76.
Analysts said stocks were lifted by technology stocks after Monday's strong rally on Wall Street.
Earlier in Asia, prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended sharply higher in fairly active trading, lifted by strength in high tech issues after the sharp rise of their counterparts Monday on Wall Street.
Japan's blue-chip Nikkei Average of 225 selective issues, which added 26.62 points Monday, jumped 296.15 points, or 2.80 percent, to 10,861.56 -- its highest close since Aug. 30 when it settled at 10,938.50. Analysts said stocks were lifted by gains in high-tech issues after the sharp rise of their U.S. counterparts Monday, as well as strength in the auto sector as the Japanese yen weakened on global currency markets.
The yen's weakness helped support major exporters such as auto manufacturers.
The Nikkei appeared to get a strong boost from public pension fund buying, helping improve the market mood and accelerating buying overall in the last minutes of trade, experts said.
However, many investors were wary of testing the market's upside after a round of initial buying ran its course, opting instead to wait for the release of first half earnings results and outlooks from major high-tech companies, including Sony and Fujitsu, which announce their results Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, prices ended sharply higher in active trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, lifted by strength in China stocks. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index jumped 422.30 points, or 4.31 percent, to 10,219.80.
China-related shares surged on reports that Beijing has suspended rules for mainland firms to sell 10 percent of state holdings in initial public offerings.
Meanwhile, prices ended slightly higher on the South Korean Stock Exchange. The Kospi Composite Index rose 1.80 points, or 0.34 percent, to 530.50.
Prices ended slightly lower in moderate trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as chipmakers came under bouts of profit taking. The Weighted Index slipped 26.20 points, or 0.67 percent, to 3,874.42.
Elsewhere around the region, prices ended higher in moderate trading on the Australian Stock Exchange, supported by broad based gains in most industry groups and a particularly strong performance from News Corp. and banks. The blue-chip All Ordinaries Index rose 32.50 points, or 1.04 percent, to 3,149.30.
The rise coincided with a sharp fall in bond yields, leading brokers to suggest funds were switching out of bonds and into other asset classes.
