Blue-chip stocks ended lower as Wall Street felt the aftershocks from Federal Reserve chairman, Mr Alan Greenspan's view that the market is too high. The market also reeled from news that several European central banks had raised their interest rates, which could make dollar-denominated investments less attractive.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 33.64 points at 8,061.42, following Wednesday's stiff sell-off of 83 points on Mr Greenspan's comments.
In the broader market, declining issues beat advances 17-11 on active volume of 553 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Analysts said Wall Street was still jumpy a day after Mr Greenspan said the central bank would be on alert for any signs of inflation, especially with the closely-watched producer price index (PPI) for September due today.
The PPI will be scrutinised for any signs of price pressure.