NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street retreated yesterday, falling amid vanishing hopes for an interest rate cut and an unimpressive forecast from Apple Inc. that muted investors’ enthusiasm for technology stocks.Government data released yesterday indicated slowly rising prices for consumers, as well as a surprising plunge in jobless claims to an 11-month low and a ramp-up in housing construction. The reports pointed to an economy that’s more resilient than the market had thought, leading more investors to lower their expectations for a rate cut. A cut could boost consumer spending by making debt less cumbersome and help companies pull in higher profits.

“People have been focusing so much on the weak housing market, but it doesn’t look like it’s spilling at all into the rest of the economy. This expansion is going to go on,” said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist for ING Investment Management. “The market has been pricing in a rate cut. It’s still in there, but with a lot less conviction than before.”

Meanwhile, Apple issued a forecast for the current quarter that was strong, but not as strong as investors anticipated. The report, which overshadowed record profits from brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co., compelled investors to scale back their high expectations for computer and electronics sales this year.

Crude oil’s drop to $50 a barrel yesterday also made investors shudder. Though low energy prices help consumers, the plunge could mean big losses for companies that have money in commodities as part of their investment strategy.

The technology-laden Nasdaq composite index declined 36.21, or 1.46 percent, to 2,443.21 — its biggest one-day drop since November 27, when it fell by 2.21 percent. The Nasdaq is still up more than 1 percent on the year, however.

Dow Jones industrial average slipped 9.22, or 0.07 percent, to 12,567.93.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.25, or 0.30 percent, at 1,426.37.

Bonds fell slightly, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note at 4.77 percent, down from 4.78 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices edged lower.

Crude sank $1.76 to settle at $50.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It briefly fell below $50 to its lowest price in 20 months after the US Department of Energy reported that the nation’s crude oil and gasoline inventories grew.

Plummeting energy prices are expected to be generally supportive to stocks, as lower fuel costs leave consumers with more money to spend. However, they are taking a toll on some energy-related stocks: ExxonMobil Corp. fell 50 cents to $71.96, while ConocoPhillips fell 94 cents to $62.61.

The drop in oil also takes away some of the feel of a boom time from financial markets — when crude peaked at $78 last summer, it helped draw new investment money. Now, the fear on Wall Street is that the pullback will have the opposite effect, sending some investors to the sidelines.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony to the Senate Budget Committee, in which he warned that long-term problems could arise if the national debt, Social Security and Medicare issues aren’t dealt with, provided little direction for the markets, which instead focused on yesterday’s economic reports.

The Labour Department said the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.5 percent in December, and jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 290,000 last week. The Commerce Department said construction of new homes rose by 4.5 percent last month.

So far, most signs point to an economy that will keep slowly expanding — neither requiring a rate cut, nor eating away at corporate profits. This should help the stock market in the long term, but many investors are treading cautiously, realising after the market’s sharp climb late last year, some of their expectations might have been overblown.

“The economy is not slowing down as much as market had hoped. The bottom line is, equity holders need to be a little more patient than they otherwise thought,” said John C. Forelli, portfolio manager for Independence Investment LLC in Boston.

Strong earnings from Merrill Lynch weren’t enough to boost the market yesterday. The nation’s largest brokerage reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed Wall Street expectations — just as rival JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s did on Wednesday — but Merrill stock slipped $1.41 to $95.40, retreating after rising in earlier trading.