U.S. stocks fall ahead of Bernanke speech

New York -- U.S. stock indexes fell Tuesday morning ahead of an inflation speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The slide also followed lowered earnings forecasts from No. 2 U.S. retailer Home Depot Inc. and No. 4 Sears Holdings Corp.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 35.69 or 0.26 percent to 13,614.28 in late-morning trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 7.26 or 0.47 percent to 1,524.59.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 10.41 points, or 0.39 percent, at 2,659.61.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 9.31 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 18,252.67.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 14/32, yielding 5.08 percent, while the 30-year bond was up 25/32, yielding 5.174 percent.

The U.S. dollar fell to 122.245 yen from 123.4 yen in New York late Monday. The euro, in U.S. dollars, moved to $1.3713 from $1.3622.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.