US STOCKS-Wall St declines as Wal-Mart's weak forecast drags on retailers

* Wal-Mart sinks on weak forecast, drags down Dow

* JPMorgan (LSE: JPIU.L - news) falls after results

* U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . retail sales barely rise in September

* Dow down 0.9 pct, S&P down 0.5 pct, Nasdaq (NasdaqGS: NDAQ - news) down 0.3 pct (Updates with Netflix (Xetra: 552484 - news) down after the bell, latest volume)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Wal-Mart skidded after issuing a weak profit forecast, dragging down other big retailers, and as JPMorgan slipped after disappointing results.

The news added to worries about the outlook for U.S. earnings, with S&P 500 profits forecast to have dropped more than 4 percent in the third quarter compared with a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) data.

Following the market close, shares of Netflix sank 8.7 percent to $100.61 after the company reported U.S. subscriber additions below its own forecast.

Separately, CNBC said supermarket operator Albertsons' initial public offering was likely to price at $20 or less as bidders are concerned about the Wal-Mart forecast, while First (Shanghai: 603806.SS - news) Data's IPO is likely to price at $16. Earlier this month, Albertsons said it expected its IPO to price between $23 and $26 per share, and First Data (NYSE: FDC - news) estimated its would price between $18 and $20 a share.

During the regular session, Wal-Mart sank 10 percent to $60.03 in its biggest one-day percentage decline in years and its heaviest trading day since January 2009, after it forecast a drop of up to 12 percent in earnings per share in fiscal 2017. The decline erased about $22 billion off the retailer's market value, and the stock was the biggest drag on both the Dow and S&P 500.

Also weighing on retailers, data showed retail sales in the United States barely rose in September.

Target (NYSE: TGT - news) was down 3.5 percent at $76.20, and Sears fell 3.0 percent to $24.41. The S&P 500 retail index dropped 1.2 percent.

JPMorgan shares fell 2.5 percent to $59.99 after the bank reported disappointing third-quarter results late on Tuesday.

"In these next three weeks in the earnings season, we're going to get some clear guidance not just on earnings for the third quarter but guidance for the fourth quarter and for next year. That's going to be crucial," said John Canally, investment strategist and economist for LPL Financial (NasdaqGS: LPLA - news) in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 157.14 points, or 0.92 percent, to 16,924.75, the S&P 500 lost 9.45 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,994.24 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.76 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,782.85.

Wells Fargo (Hanover: NWT.HA - news) fell 0.7 percent to $51.50, while Bank of America rose 0.8 percent to $15.64 both following results.

Among other big decliners, shares of Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) dropped 4.3 percent to $134.22. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL - news) ' chief executive said he expects the market to be "ripe" for the carrier to buy used widebody planes over the next 12 to 36 months, as low interest rates have created a market bubble. Delta shares were up 1.8 percent at $48.59.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,809 to 1,241, for a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,759 issues fell and 1,005 advanced for a 1.75-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 21 new highs and 57 new lows.

About 6.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, compared with the 7.5 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Editing by Leslie Adler and Meredith Mazzilli)