Stocks fell sharply Thursday, led by technology shares, following cautious outlooks from Qualcomm and Motorola and continuing concerns about the U.S. labor market. The Dow industrials and the Standard & Poor's 500 fell to a nearly three-month low, while the Nasdaq fell to a two-month low. In his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, President Barack Obama said creating jobs was his primary focus in 2010 and his administration will work to improve hiring in the short term and creating sustainable jobs in the longer term. In economic news, U.S. jobless claims fell less than expected last week, while the number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits also fell less than expected. A second report showed U.S. durable-goods orders rising a much smaller-than-expected 0.3 percent in December after falling 0.4 percent the previous month. Just before markets closed, U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke was confirmed by the Senate for a second term after heavy lobbying by the Obama administration and Democrats. Concern that Bernanke's term might not be renewed was among factors that caused markets to plunge late last week. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 115.70, or 1.1 percent, to 10,120.46. Twenty-four of the index's 30 components fell, led by IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, McDonald's, 3M, and Caterpillar. AT&T reported higher quarterly profits and said it added 2.7 million new wireless customers, and its shares rose slightly. Procter & Gamble reported weaker profit and stronger revenue, but the results were better than expected, and shares of the consumer-products maker rose 2 percent. The broader S&P 500 fell 12.97, or 1.2 percent, to 1,084.53. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 42.41, or 1.9 percent, to 2,178.00. Qualcomm, a maker of chips and other gear used in mobile telephones, offered a weaker 2010 outlook and lowered its profit and revenue outlook for the current quarter, and its shares fell 14 percent in heavy trading. Motorola warned that it will post a loss in the current quarter despite reporting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, sending shares 11 percent lower. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 78.62 to 6,956.99. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 19.80 to 1,800.96. And the Russell 2000 index fell 10.45 to 607.93.
