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Stocks Lose More Ground; Wal-Mart Soars, Ross Stores Rocked Late

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Strong earnings reports from Dow industrials components Wal-Mart (WMT) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) didn't help the stock market much Thursday, as investors seemed to focus more on the prospect of higher interest rates.

The session wasn't a complete wash, though, as major averages ended well off session lows. The Nasdaq fell 0.6%, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 0.5%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.4%. Preliminary data showed volume on the Nasdaq coming in slightly lower than Wednesday's levels in the stock market today. NYSE volume was unavailable.

Declining stocks topped advancers on both exchanges by more than 2-to-1.

Dow component Wal-Mart jumped nearly 10% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and higher U.S. same-store sales.

Other gainers included Ross Stores (ROST). Shares popped 2% ahead of its earnings report after the close, but the stock fell 6% in after-hours trading after the discount retailer reported lackluster Q1 sales and gave a lukewarm outlook.

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Staying in the retail sector, Michael's (MIK) reversed higher above its 50-day moving average, rising 1.5% to 28.16. It's working on a long cup-with-handle base with a 29.66 buy point.

Commodities were weak again amid a strong U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for June delivery cut losses but still ended 3 cents lower at $48.16 a barrel. Gold lost 1.5% to $1,254.80 an ounce. Silver gave up nearly 4% to $16.49 an ounce.

In economic news, weekly jobless claims fell from a one-year high, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity declined for the eighth time in the last nine months.

Elsewhere, Cisco Systems gapped up but ended near its session low. Shares still rose 3%. Growth has slowed considerably at the networking giant, but the stock benefited from several price target hikes.

Salesforce.com (CRM) jumped 4% after reporting strong earnings late Wednesday. The enterprise software maker is no stranger to strong growth, and the latest quarter was no different, with earnings up 50% from a year earlier. Sales growth accelerated for the second straight quarter, rising 27% to $1.9 billion.