* Big Lots tumbles 20 pct after results
* Steelmaker shares slip after downgrade
* Jobless claims tick up, flash PMI slightly stronger
* Indexes off: Dow 0.67 pct, S&P; 0.6 pct, Nasdaq 0.73 pct
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Aug 23 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as
expectations for swift stimulus action from the Federal Reserve
dimmed and Chinese and euro zone data pointed to stalling global
growth.
A near 7 percent slump in Hewlett-Packard shares weighed on
the technology sector but the S&P; 500 stayed above 1,400,
holding on to most of its recent gains.
Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting indicated
the central bank might be ready for another round of stimulus,
giving equities support on Wednesday.
However, Federal Open Market Committee non-voting member and
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on CNBC that U.S.
data has been somewhat better since the latest Fed meeting and
the minutes were “a bit stale.”
“There could be a tiny bit of steam coming out of the QE3
balloon,” said Jack de Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor
Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
World business surveys painted a picture of economic malaise
stretching from Beijing to Berlin, adding to concerns that the
world economy was slowing down. The HSBC Flash China
manufacturing PMI fell to 47.8 in August, its lowest level since
November.
“There’s no important news out of Europe on their debt
crisis, which leaves China as the big issue and the latest
reading is weak,” said De Gan.
“When you have a rally like we’ve had you need incremental
good news to keep it going and we haven’t had that.”
He added, however, that following the more than 12 percent
rise from the June lows to this week’s four-year high on the S&P;
500, Thursday’s decline was not very significant.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 88.56 points,
or 0.67 percent, to 13,084.20. The S&P; 500 Index dropped
8.43 points, or 0.60 percent, to 1,405.06. The Nasdaq Composite
lost 22.31 points, or 0.73 percent, to 3,051.36.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless
benefits unexpectedly rose last week while U.S. manufacturing
improved only slightly in August, worrisome signs for an economy
struggling to create enough jobs. Sales of new single family
homes rose 3.6 percent in July to 372,000 units – matching
April’s two-year high.
The data seem to indicate the economy is not slowing at a
fast-enough pace to warrant further action from the Fed.
A host of brokerages cut their price targets on
Hewlett-Packard’s stock, after the No. 1 PC maker posted
an $8.9 billion loss and cut its earnings outlook for the year,
echoing concerns raised by rival Dell about faltering
demand for PCs.
HP shares fell 6.7 percent to $17.91 and Dell extended
recent losses and was down 2.9 percent at $11.34.
Shares of U.S. steel producers fell after a Wall Street
analyst downgraded the sector on the belief that prices of the
metal will decline. U.S. Steel fell 3.8 percent to $21.90
and the S&P; materials sector dropped 1.1 percent.
Big Lots shares slid 20 percent to $31.07 after the
retailer reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut
its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.
