U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, led by declines in Coca-Cola Co., as investors worried corporate profits will disappoint later this year amid high energy costs and damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, reported Reuters. Shares of Coke, the world's largest soft-drink maker, fell after Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the bottling company, said third-quarter earnings would fall short of analysts' forecasts. Other companies whose shares fell after issuing disappointing news on sales or profits included department store Sears Holdings Corp. and home-builder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 25.63 points, or 0.24 percent, at 10,607.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.48 points, or 0.20 percent, at 1,233.88. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.21 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,173.24. Shares of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the soft-drink bottler, sank almost 9 percent to $20.16 and Coke, which owns about 40 percent of Coca-Cola Enterprises, declined 1.5 percent to $44.02, dragging the Dow and S&P 500 gauges lower. --More 2348 Local Time 2048 GMT
