Wall Street stocks traded lower Monday as disappointing sales from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.eroded early gains following the capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.34points,or 0.2percent,to 10,022.82;the Nasdaq composite index declined 30.74points,or 1.6percent,to 1,918.26;the Standard &Poor's 500index retreated 6.10points,or 0.6percent,to 1,068.04.

On Monday,the news about Saddam's capture gave the market a strong boost,but the rally was short-lived.The major indexes shot up initially and then steadily retreated as investors refocused on the domestic front.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,the world's largest retailing chain store,reported a weaker-than-expected sales in December,the traditionalholiday shopping season.

Analysts said that Saddam's capture might help ease lingering concerns about the economic recovery and persuade investors to take on more risk,but the sustainable market growth must be supported by the strong economic data and solid corporate outlooks.

Wall Street investors were also awaiting the Labor Department'sreport on consumer prices,which would be released Tuesday.

Dial Corp.rose 2.50dollars to 28.38dollars on news that it had agreed to be purchased by Henkel,a German consumer products group,for about 2.9billion dollars in cash.

However,there was no such good news for other companies.McDonald's Corp.declined 36cents to 25.42dollars,Oracle Corp.fell 13cents to 12.70dollars,and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.dropped 1.76dollars to 50.74dollars.

On the NYSE,declining stocks outnumbered advancers 2to 1,andthe trading volume was moderate at 1.46billion shares.