New York, Nov 25 (DPA) US stocks fell slightly on Tuesday as government figures showed that last quarter’s economic rebound was smaller than initially thought.

The Commerce Department in an updated estimate said the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter, down from the department’s first estimate of 3.5 percent. Worse-than-expected consumer demand and higher imports weighed on the numbers.

The figure marked the first three-month period of growth since the second quarter of 2008 and confirmed that the United States has likely emerged from its deepest recession in decades.

The Federal Reserve meanwhile issued a rosier growth forecast for the coming year but warned that the country’s tough job market could last into 2011.

Also Tuesday, the private Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose slightly in November after two straight months of declines.

Financial shares led the declines in stocks, after a government agency said the number of US banks in some danger of collapse — so-called ‘problem’ lenders — had climbed to its highest level in 16 years.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.24 points, or 0.16 percent, to 10,433.71, pulling back from its highest close in 13 months on Monday.

The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index inched down 0.59 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,105.65. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 6.83 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,169.18.

The US currency was unchanged against the euro at 66.84 euro cents but fell against the Japanese currency to 88.56 yen from 89 yen on Monday.