Stock market breaks record making rally

The stock market fell back from record levels Wednesday because of a weaker forecast for global growth and concerns about airline profits.

At the close on Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.9 points, or nearly 0.4 percent, to nearly 1,944. The index had closed at a record of 1,951.27 on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 102.04 points, or 0.6 percent, to nearly 16,844. The Nasdaq composite slipped 6.1 points, or about 0.1 percent, to nearly 4,332.

Delta Air Lines and other carriers fell after Germany's Lufthansa warned of smaller profits. Boeing slid after analysts said that most of the good news about the plane maker was already priced into the stock.

Stocks opened lower after the World Bank predicted weaker global growth this year, citing a tough winter in America and the political crisis in Ukraine. The bank said late Tuesday that it expects the world economy to grow 2.8 percent this year instead of the 3.2 percent it predicted in January.

The report was a reality check for investors who had pushed major stock indexes to all-time highs this week amid optimism that the U.S. economy was strengthening. Stronger growth should translate into higher revenues and better results for U.S. companies.