Stocks Take a Tumble

Gap (GPS Quote) posted fourth-quarter earnings of $219 million, or 27 cents a share, down 35% from the year-ago quarter. Results still beat the Thomson First Call average estimate. Gap lost 65 cents, or 3.4%, to close at $18.38.

Fellow retailer Kohl's (KSS Quote) said it had a fourth-quarter profit of $484.6 million, or $1.48 a share, up 29% from a year earlier. Wall Street had expected earnings of $1.43 a share for the quarter. Kohl's rose $3.73, or 5.5%, to $71.26.

Away from equities, the University of Michigan revised its consumer sentiment index for February to 91.3 from the preliminary reading of 93.3. Economists expected no revision to the data.

Treasury prices rose. The 10-year note added 9/32 in price and was yielding 4.51%, and the 30-year bond was up 12/32, yielding 4.65%.

Commodities were mostly lower. Oil gave back 36 cents to close at $61.64 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold was off $21 at $644.10 an ounce. Natural gas dipped 4 cents at $7.24 per British million thermal units.