Wall Street: Friday close

STOCKS fell to their lowest in a month with investors cautious before the corporate earnings season and the latest economic news failing to convince Wall Street that a recovery is imminent.

Brisk consumer spending nudged economic growth ahead more than expected in the second quarter, setting the stage for a second-half revival in growth.

But consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly in September, hurt by persistent weakness in the jobs market, high gas prices and the occupation in Iraq.

Some money managers are eager to lock in gains from the market's rally over the past six months as the quarter draws to a close, traders said. So far this year, the blue-chip Dow is up 12%, and the Nasdaq is up 34%.

'Everyone's in a wait-and-see mode on third-quarter earnings,' said Stephen Massocca, head of trading and president of Pacific Growth Equities. 'There's a perception that stocks are overvalued, and that's holding the market back.'

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 30.88 points to 9313.0, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 25.17 to 1792.07.

Motorola topped the most active list, but ended unchanged at $12.53. The group may miss the opportunity to sell some of its first camera phones in the US in the holiday season because of delivery delays. But the company said it was positioned for the crucial holiday season and reiterated its forecast for that business.

Eastman Kodak, which on Thursday slashed its dividend, sank to a fresh record low at $20.40 and weighed on the blue-chip Dow average. Kodak's stock ended down 75 cents, or 3%, at $21.40.

3M, which makes products ranging from sandpaper to Post-it notes to fibre-optic connectors, gained $1.84 or 1.3% to $143.45. Banc of America Securities upgraded its rating on the conglomerate to 'buy' from 'neutral'.

Human Genome Sciences lost 89 cents or 6%, to $13.17. The drug development company said on Thursday that its experimental anti-inflammatory drug had failed a mid-stage trial in adults with chronic skin ulcers.