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NEW YORK -- Stocks slid sharply today, pushing the Nasdaq to its lowest level since May, as profit worries again rattled technology shares and an unexpected drop in unemployment stoked fears of rising inflation. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index fell 111.09 to 3,361.01, only 155.92 points above this year's lowest close at 3,205.11 on May 26. For the week, The Nasdaq fell 8.5 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.38 to 10,596.54, its lowest close since August. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 27.29 at 1,408.99. Dow falls 128.38;
Nasdaq off 111Associated Press
Decliners beat decliners by a 2-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,977 down, 851 up and 457 unchanged. Volume was 1.15 billion shares compared with 1.18 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index fell 11.75 to 656.12, the American Stock Exchange composite index lost 9.22 to 920.71 and the Russell 2000 index fell 11.65 to 491.02.
The Treasury's two-year note rose 2/32 to a price of 100 2/32; its yield fell 3 basis points to 5.97 percent. The 10-year note rose 9/32 to 99 17/32; its yield fell 4 basis points to 5.81 percent. The 30-year bond rose 25/32 to 105 25/32; its yield fell 5 basis points to 5.84 percent. The bond market will be closed Monday in observance of the Columbus Day holiday.
The market opened the day higher, but turned lower as investors grew defensive. Veeco's shares fell $34.97 to $67.56 after the semiconductor firm warned of disappointing earnings and a UBS Warburg analyst downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold."