Wall Street Edges Down - NYTimes.com Stocks on Wall Street retreated for a second day on Tuesday, suggesting shares would continue to ease from multiyear highs. In early trading, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average was a couple of points lower and the Nasdaq composite index lost 0.1 percent. Equities have rallied 7 percent since early August, propelling the S.&P. 500 to its highest level in nearly five years, propelled by central bank stimulus in Europe and the United States. But analysts say that for the rally to continue, economic data needs to improve. "If we don't start seeing stronger U.S. economic data or we don't start seeing strong policy measures out of the Chinese, then I think we're going be due for a correction," said Jack de Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp. in Portsmouth, N.H. "There are reasons to believe these weak data in the U.S. could bottom shortly and begin to improve, but it hasn't happened yet," he said. The longer we go, the more stretched this little rally will be. In Europe, shares also retreated. In afternoon trading, the FTSE 100 index in London fell 0.4 percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt was 0.5 percent lower. The CAC 40 in Paris slid 0.7 percent. European car sales fell 8.5 percent in August, for the 11th consecutive monthly decline, led by Ford, General Motors and Fiat. Midmarket brands bore the brunt of the slump in markets including Italy, France and Germany. FedEx cut its profit forecast for its fiscal year 2013 on Tuesday, saying that a weakening world economy had prompted customers to shift toward lower-priced shipping. The shares fell 1.7 percent to $87.73. Earlier this month, FedEx warned the slowing economy was hurting its results. Advanced Micro Devices Inc shares fell 6.2 percent. The firm said its chief financial officer, Thomas Seifert, was leaving the struggling personal computer chip maker to pursue other opportunities. Weakness in commodity markets looked set to weigh on related stocks. Copper fell for a second day after a rally triggered last week by the Federal Reserve's new stimulus efforts, known as QE3, ran out of steam and investors booked profits. Shares in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold fell 1 percent on light volume. "The market may already have "prepaid" for the QE3 easing announcement," said Goldman Sachs in a research note. For the equity market moves to extend, an improvement in the macro data will now need to show up. Dole Food said it would sell two businesses to Itochu Corp. for $1.7 billion in cash, a deal that could help the world's largest fruit and vegetable producer pay down its heavy debt load while expanding Itochu's food presence in new markets like China. Dole's shares, up 9.5 percent at the opening bell, were 1.1 percent higher by midmorning.