Wall Street dips after previous big rally

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (Chinese media) -- Wall Street retreated Wednesday, after Morgan Stanley reported larger-than-expected losses and as investors cashed out after the previous big rally.

Morgan Stanley posted a loss of 2.37 billion U.S. dollars for the fiscal fourth quarter, wider than the most pessimistic analyst's estimate. Morgan Stanley's share declined as much as five percent in early trading.

Moreover, Apple dragged down technologies, after the maker of the iPhone said Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs won't speak at the Macworld Expo, spurring concern that his health is deteriorating. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer downgraded Apple to "perform" from "outperform."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than four percent on Tuesday and other indexes gained more than five percent, as the Federal Reserve cut its federal funds rate target to a range of zero to 0.25 percent. Therefore, it was not surprising that investors cashed in some of their gains on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones lost 100.44 to 8,824.34. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard Poor's 500 index dipped 10.66 to 902.52; and the Nasdaq slipped 19.98 to 1,569.91.