NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street retreated Tuesday after a disappointing reading on consumer sentiment punctured some of the optimism of the past two sessions.

 

The market was reminded of the economy's ongoing problems when the Conference Board, a business-backed research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 64.5 in March from a revised 76.4 in February. The reading -- a five-year low -- was far below the 73.0 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

 

Tight credit markets, rising prices and declining employment have consumers worrying about a recession, and the stock market in turn worrying that consumers will cut back their spending and further weaken the economy.

 

However, some profit-taking was to be expected on Wall Street after a two-day rally sent the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 450 points. Stocks had charged higher in the days following the Federal Reserve's decision to aid investment banks and orchestrate a buyout deal for a near-collapsed Bear Stearns Cos.

 

Stocks also fell on a report on the housing sector showed a further pullback in home prices. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index shows U.S. home prices declined 11.4 percent in January from a year earlier.

 

The Dow fell 75.71, or 0.60 percent, to 12,472.93.

 

Broader indexes also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 6.31, or 0.47 percent, to 1,343.57; and the Nasdaq fell 8.01, or 0.34 percent, to 2,318.74.

 

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.49 percent from 3.55 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

 

Oil prices remained over $100 a barrel as rising gasoline prices and a weaker U.S. dollar kept buyers in the market. A barrel of light, sweet crude fell 83 cents to $100.03 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

The mood on Main Street is key as consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of economic activity. Investors worry that consumers uneasy about the economy and their financial well-being are more likely to pare their spending.

 

The readings come a day after a surprise uptick in sales of existing homes helped send the Dow up 187 points.

 

In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares fell 44 cents to $46.11 after a securities analyst said the bank will end up paying about $65 per share for Bear Stearns. That amount, which includes costs to bring the two companies together, was labeled too high a price for a ''deeply troubled company,'' the Punk, Ziegel & Co. analyst said.

 

Bear Stearns shares fell 6 cents to $11.19 -- still above the $10 per share buyout price being offered by JPMorgan. There has been some speculation in the market that a higher offer might come before the deal closes.

 

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.98, or 0.42 percent, to 698.30.

 

Declining issues barely outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 227 million shares.

 

Investors overseas remained upbeat following the U.S. rallies Monday and last week. Rallies abroad appeared to help embolden U.S. investors early Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei stock average finished up 2.12 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.21 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 3.01 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 3.08 percent.