Stocks turned sharply lower on Wall Street as the bond market resumed its recent slide, lifting interest rates further from last week's 17-month low.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 71.31 points to 8188.00 after trading slightly higher much of the day.

Broader market indicators also sank over the final two hours after spending most of the session hovering near Wednesday's record marks.

Stocks had drawn some early strength from the bond market, where interest rates improved slightly for the second straight day after a three-session slump.

But as bonds turned lower following a less-than-enthusiastic auction of new 30-year Treasury securities, the yield on the long bond jumped to 6.53 per cent, up from late Wednesday's 6.49 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 5-to4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,244 up, 1,583 down and 554 unchanged.