Stocks fell yesterday as investors fixated anew on the nearly stagnant US economy and cashed in profits from January's run up, driving major market indices to their largest one-day losses in a month.

Hopes for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts were curbed after a US jobs report for January painted a mixed picture of the economy's health, analysts said.

The jobs data showed unemployment rose in January, but that was countered by a stronger-than-expected gain in job creation, leading traders to question the urgency of the Fed's interest-rate-cutting campaign.

The Nasdaq composite and the Dow Jones Industrial average both posted losses unseen since January 5th.