- 20Jan
(Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as upbeat economic data on jobs and housing failed to offset a selloff in the technology and materials sectors.
Technology stocks were weighed by networking/cloud computing companies after F5 Networks Inc (FFIV.O) gave a gloomy outlook, while energy and material stocks were pressured by a sharp decline in crude oil prices.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 74.13 points, or 0.63 percent, at 11,751.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 9.72 points, or 0.76 percent, at 1,272.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index.IXIC slid 32.31 points, or 1.19 percent, at 2,693.05.
The decline came a day after Wall Street suffered its worst drop in nearly two months on disappointing results from banks. Investors were concerned the slump may grow worse.
"I do consider it to be the start of a something more," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco. "We're looking for a 5 percent to 7 percent pullback range, and I think we started it yesterday."
Crude oil futures fell 2.8 percent to $88.35 a barrel.
Alcoa Inc (AA.N) was the biggest decliner on the Dow, falling 2.5 percent to $15.66, while Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) gave up 1.4 percent to $77.14.
Among the networking/cloud stocks, F5 Networks tumbled nearly 23 percent at $107.22, while Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) sank 6 percent to $34.67.
In the latest economic data, U.S. home resales jumped more than expected in December despite bad weather as the sector struggled to recover from a severe slump.
Also, U.S. initial jobless claims posted their biggest weekly decline in nearly a year.
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