US Stocks Tumbled Yesterday, Led By The Consumer-Discretionary Sector

US stocks plunged yesterday in the wake of disappointing earnings guidance and results reported by the consumer-discretionary sector retailers Kohl's KSS and Urban Outfitters URBN. Additionally, a positive outlook from Cisco Systems CSCO could not revive investor enthusiasm towards the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average faced its sixth drop in the past eight sessions when it dipped 113.96 points, or 1.05%, to 10782.95. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 30.66 points, or 1.26%, to 2394.36 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 14.23 points, or 1.21%, to 1157.44. The Dow’s top decliner came in the form of the networking giant CSCO that fell 1.21 points, or 4.5%, to $25.53. Although the company’s profits jumped 63%, its fiscal Q4 sales growth forecasts merely met analysts' expectations. The index’s other poor performers included American Express AXP, which slid 1.29 points, or 2.9%, to $42.81, Intel INTC, which dropped $0.59, or 2.6%, to $22.50 and General Electric GE, which lost $0.39, or 2.1%, to $18.05. Alcoa AA is the only Dow component that managed to close in the positive territory after it climbed $0.34, or 2.7%, to $12.80. Losses at the S&P were led by KSS, which shed 3.34, or 5.8%, to $53.81, after its Q2 and 2010 profit outlook missed analyst expectations and URBN, which fell 2.63, or 6.7%, to $36.78, as its expenditure surpassed analyst expectations. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.