US stock market shows decline

Stocks declined moderately today as news of job cuts at Merck & Co. and a mixed holiday sales snapshot prompted Wall Street to take a breather from its recent five-week rally.

The market was coming off seven consecutive trading days of gains amid a year-end rally that vaulted the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes to four-year highs, fed by an improving economic landscape and mounting eagerness for strong sales in December.