Stocks pulled back from record levels as a profit disappointment from Merck and a rocky day on Japanese markets provided unsettling reminders of the unresolved economic crisis in Asia.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 85.70 points or 0.9 per cent to 9,076.57 after trimming a late 120point slide. The dollar rose sharply against the Japanese yen, sending Tokyo stocks to steep losses.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a two-to-one margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,006 up, 1,994 down and 516 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled a hefty 695.38 million shares as of 4 p.m. The Standard and Poor's 500-stock list fell 11.15 to 1,108.17, and the NYSE composite index fell 5.86 to 576.91. The Nasdaq composite index fell 5.02 to 1,858.24.