Dow slips over war fears

THE Dow slid and the Nasdaq held near break-even Thursday as worries over a possible war with Iraq and some weak economic news kept hold of the markets.

Investors also considered some mixed sales numbers and guidance from a number of top retailers.

Around 1.30pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, down 36.75 to 7948.43, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, down 3.96 to 839.63, fell modestly, while the Nasdaq composite, up 3.33 to 1304.83, teetered in positive territory.