NEW YORK — The stock market resumed its slide Thursday as disappointing forecasts from technology companies brought new concerns about the economy.
A weaker outlook from technology maker Qualcomm dragged the Nasdaq composite index lower. Drops in Motorola and Apple also hurt tech stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average fell almost 116 points, its sixth loss in nine days.
Technology shares could get a bounce today from Amazon and Microsoft, which posted improved earnings after the closing bell. Their stocks rose in after-hours electronic trading.
The market’s drop Thursday also came in response to a report from Standard & Poor’s that said it no longer considers Britain’s banking system among the “most stable and low-risk.” The report added to recent concern about rising debt levels in countries such as Greece and drove the dollar higher as investors sought safety.
Stocks have been sliding as concern builds that a fragile economic recovery could be derailed by missteps in Washington.
The Labor Department said first-time jobless claims dropped 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 470,000. The Commerce Department’s report on orders to factories for manufactured goods rose 0.3 percent in December.
President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul banking regulations and restrict trading at large financial institutions spooked the market during the past week.
The possibility that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke wouldn’t be confirmed for a second term also had investors on edge. The Senate confirmed Bernanke as the market was closing. His first four-year term ends Sunday.
The Dow fell 115.70, or 1.13 percent, to 10,120.46. The drop put the psychological barrier of 10,000 back in investors’ sights. The Dow, which had been down as much as 181 points Thursday, hasn’t traded below 10,000 since Nov. 6. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12.97, or 1.2 percent, to 1,084.53, while the Nasdaq fell 42.41, or 1.9 percent, to 2,179.00.
