Wall Street: Friday close

Wall Street's bull market ran into resistance on Friday as stocks fell sharply following weeks of gains. A cautious outlook from chip-maker

Analysts also said stocks have little room to move higher, with indexes trading at levels not seen in more than a year. Earlier this week, the Nasdaq composite index reached its highest point in 16 months, while the Dow Jones industrial average finished at a level last achieved 14 months ago.

After rising more than 76 points during the session, the Dow closed down 74.81, or 0.8%, at 9,348.87. The Nasdaq fell 12.24, or 0.7%, to 1,765.31, giving up an early lead of 34.94.

Intel rose $1 to $27.39 after raising its third-quarter sales forecast above analysts' expectations of $7.24bn - to between $7.3bn and $7.8bn. But it added that while the processor business is holding up, demand for communications products remains weak. Intel's news boosted is competitor Advanced Micro Devices, up 48 cents to $9.91.

Elsewhere, Schering-Plough dropped $1.52 to $14.96, having announced major restructuring plans late on Thursday. The pharmaceutical company said it would cut 1,000 jobs, do away with bonuses and reduce dividends. Other drug makers also edged lower, including Eli Lilly, down 76 cents at $62.80, and Aventis, down 47 cents at $49.12.

Retailer Kirklands fell 85 cents to $16.15 after CIBC World Markets downgraded it to 'sector perform' from 'sector outperform', saying the company was fairly valued given its volatility.