* Fed to evaluate financial institutions' resilience
* Target rallies after rosy outlook, lifting retailers
* Dow off 0.1 pct, S&P up 0.02 pct, Nasdaq up 0.3 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Rewrites first paragraphs, updates with details, volume figures in final two paragraphs)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Investors were unable to recoup recent losses in the market on Wednesday, suggesting the struggles recently experienced by stocks are far from over.
A late-day selloff did not inspire confidence. Volume was light and early buying faded, as financials led the market downward. The S&P 500 is down nearly 4 percent since Nov. 5 after rallying nearly 13 percent in September and October.
"I think the market is in a deterioration trend. It's worrisome at this point, considering that we had a selloff yesterday with pretty big volume and poor advance-decline numbers," said Frank Gretz, market analyst and technician at the Shields & Co brokerage in New York.
"The market is certainly vulnerable, and I think it is in fact headed for a correction."
Financials sagged after the Federal Reserve said it will evaluate the ability of 19 large financial institutions to withstand losses in "adverse" economic scenarios. For details, see [ID:nN17227475]
The announcement accompanied guidance on potential dividend increases, first reported on Nov. 4. Banks rallied sharply that day and were still up 1 percent in the past two weeks before Wednesday's selloff.
The KBW bank index <.BKX> fell 1.4 percent. Regional bank
KeyCorp
Indexes also suffered from the continued uncertainty of Ireland's financial crisis, which contributed to Wall Street's drop of nearly 2 percent on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was off 15.62 points, or 0.14 percent, to 11,007.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> edged up 0.25 point, or 0.02 percent, at 1,178.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 6.17 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,476.01.
Volume was light and some of the day's quietness was due to investors awaiting the pricing of General Motors' [GM.UL] initial public offering after the market's close, said Nick Kalivas, senior equity index analyst at MF Global in Chicago.
The automaker set the terms for a landmark IPO that could be the largest in U.S. history, raising up to $22.7 billion. GM said after the closing bell the stock was priced at $33 a share. [ID:nN17165039]
"There's a feeling a lot of money has been sucked out of the market to go pay for that. Once that gets out of the way, that theory's going to be put to the test," said Kalivas.
Retailers kept a floor under the market as discount chain
Target Corp
Investors kept a close eye on the situation in Ireland. Dublin agreed to work with a European Union-International Monetary Fund mission on urgent steps to shore up its shattered banking sector. [ID:nLDE6AG004]
The CBOE Volatility index <.VIX>, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, declined 3.6 percent but remained above 20. On Tuesday, it closed at its highest point in more than a month.
In economic data, housing starts slumped to their lowest level in more than a year in October, while consumer prices rose, but the annual increase in core CPI was the smallest on record. [ID:nN17190977]
About 7.19 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,807 to 1,182, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,374 to 1,245. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Additional reporting by Angela Moon)