Dow Ends Day Down 42

Banks are leading major US stock indexes mostly lower as bond yields slide, the AP reports. Wells Fargo slumped 1.6% Thursday and Bank of America gave back 1.2%. Department stores and mall operators took steep losses after Kohl's and Macy's reported weak holiday-season results and cut their profit forecasts. Kohl's plunged 19% and Macy's lost 14%. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42 points, or 0.2%, to close at 19,899. It had been down as much as 131 points earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1 point, or 0.1%, to 2,269. The Nasdaq composite edged up 10 points, or 0.2%, to 5,487. Bond prices rose sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.36%. (More Dow Jones stories.)