Wall Street stocks fell yesterday as an indication of rising US demand for cars and growing nervousness about Friday's unemployment report overshadowed some brief optimism for only mild inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 18.47 points to close at 5,624.71 after meandering in a narrow range for most of the session.

The blue chip barometer, which shed about 120 points last week, had been off nearly 37 late in the session.

The markets have plunged on the strong employment picture depicted in the last three monthly readings.