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		Home Page Mortgage News You Can Use Fear of Rising Interest Rates Sends Markets Into Decline By BLOOMBERG NEWS Published: January 29, 2004 Stocks fell yesterday after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly dropped its commitment to hold interest rates low "for a considerable period," causing concern that higher borrowing costs will slow growth in corporate profits. Homebuilders like Centex , KB Home and Pulte Homes led the decline. Mortgage lenders, including Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual, also dropped. "The Fed was eventually going to have to say there will be a period where we will have to raise rates," Robert W. Smith, who manages the $5.8 billion T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund, said in an interview. "The market, while it knew it was coming, didn't want to believe it was today." The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 15.57 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,128.48, dropping for the fourth day in five. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 141.55 points, or 1.3 percent, to 10,468.37. The Dow and S.& P. 500 had their biggest declines since Oct. 22. The Nasdaq composite index lost 38.67 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,077.37, its largest decline since Dec. 9. Eleven stocks fell for every four that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. More than 1.8 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, 34 percent above average for the last three months. Centex, which has doubled in the last year, slid $6.82, to $104.98. KB Home fell $4.60, to $66.56, and Pulte Homes dropped $1.45, to $43.71. The S.& P. 500's consumer discretionary index, which includes the three homebuilders, dropped 2.4 percent, the biggest decline among the benchmark's 10 industry groups. A disappointing report on home sales also hurt builder stocks. Sales of new homes unexpectedly fell in December to an annual pace of 1.06 million, the slowest in eight months. Bank stocks also declined. Wells Fargo, the biggest United States mortgage lender, slipped 35 cents to, $57.06. Washington Mutual, the second biggest, fell 48 cents, to $43.85, while Golden West Financial lost $2, to $101.50. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the two biggest buyers of home loans, dropped. Fannie Mae lost $1.89, to $76.46, and Freddie slipped $2.38, to $62.20. Other losers included Amazon.com , down $3.78, to $51.96. The company, the world's biggest Internet retailer, earned 29 cents a share in the fourth quarter, excluding some costs, matching analysts' estimates. Amazon.com had beaten quarterly forecasts for the last two years. Tenet Healthcare , which is being investigated by the federal government over its billing practices, declined $2.97, or 18 percent, to $13.18 for the biggest decline in the S.& P. 500. The company said it would sell 27 of its 100 hospitals and take a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter charge. Tupperware fell $1.95, to $17.25, the second-biggest decline in the S.& P. 500. The company, which sells plastic food containers, said fourth-quarter profit fell 21 percent as North American sales slumped. Time Warner , the media company, lost 85 cents, to $17.96. The company's cable television unit signed up 182,000 customers in the fourth quarter for Road Runner, its high-speed Internet service, fewer than some analysts had forecast. Its shares had increased 38 percent in the last year. Gainers included Flextronics International , up $1.37, to $18.44. The company, which makes electronics for other companies, said profit excluding some costs would be 9 cents to 11 cents a share this quarter. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call is 8 cents. St. Jude Medical, a maker of devices to regulate heartbeats, rose $3.16, to $68.55. The company said fourth-quarter profit climbed 27 percent to 51 cents a share, beating the 47-cent estimate in a Thomson First Call poll. Avaya , which makes office phone equipment, added $2.44, or 16 percent, to close at $17.85, for the largest jump in the S.& P. 500. The company said it earned $30 million in its first quarter, compared with a $125 million loss a year ago, on higher sales of gear that lets businesses use the Internet to make cheaper phone calls. The stock had the biggest gain in the S.& P. 500 last year. Network Associates , which makes McAfee computer security software, added $1.66, to $17.77. The company earned $41.3 million, or 24 cents a share, in the fourth quarter as sales fell less than 1 percent. The company lost $11.2 million, or 7 cents, in the period a year earlier. Treasury prices fell yesterday on the Fed news. The price of the benchmark 10-year note fell by 31/32 to 105 15/32. The note's yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, rose to 4.20 percent from 4.08 percent on Tuesday. 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