Economy fears help sink stocks

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks plunged Thursday as losses for Cisco Systems hurt technology companies while Wal-Mart declined after its latest quarterly report. Banks also dropped as bond yields and interest rates sank for a second day.

It was the second-worst day for stocks this year, which has seen few large declines. Along with technology companies and retailers, transportation companies skidded and all of the industrial, financial, and basic materials companies in the S&P 500 fell. Those sectors tend to struggle when investors are concerned about economic growth, although there weren't any specific signs of economic trouble Thursday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 38.10 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,430.01, its lowest close since July 11. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 274.14 points, or 1.2 percent, to 21,750.73. The Nasdaq composite sank 123.19 points, or 1.9 percent, to 6,221.91. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 24.59 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,358.94.

High-dividend stocks like utilities and real estate companies fared slightly better than the rest of the market, although they still finished lower. About 95 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 finished with losses.

Investors also looked for safer investments after a deadly van attack in Barcelona that killed at least 13 people and injured 100.

Cisco Systems fell $1.30, or 4 percent, to $31.04 after it said sales will decline in the current quarter. It is expecting a decline of 1 percent to 3 percent from the $12.4 billion in revenue it reported a year ago.

Data storage company NetApp offered a forecast for the current quarter that disappointed investors. Its stock lost $2.85, or 6.7 percent, to $39.56. It had a lot of company. Apple retreated $3.08, or 1.9 percent, to $157.87 while software maker Adobe Systems skidded $3.57, or 2.4 percent, to $148.23 and chipmaker Texas Instruments fell $2.31, or 2.8 percent, to $80.15.

Wal-Mart did better than analysts expected in the second quarter as shoppers spent more money on its website and more people came to its stores. But that wasn't enough to sustain a recent rally in the company's stock, and its shares lost $1.28, or 1.6 percent, to $79.70.

L Brands, the parent of Victoria's Secret, tumbled after it cut its annual profit forecast because of weakening sales. The stock retreated $1.40, or 3.6 percent, to $37.55, and it's down 43 percent this year as retailers slump overall and the company struggles after it decided to stop selling swimwear.

Elsewhere, Amazon fell $17.61, or 1.8 percent, to $960.57 and Macy's lost 52 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $19.62.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.19 percent from 2.23 percent. The yield on the 2-year note fell to 1.29 percent from 1.33 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 31 cents to $47.09 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 76 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $51.03 a barrel in London.

Gold rose $9.50 to $1,292.40 an ounce. Silver added 11 cents to $17.05 an ounce. Copper lost 2 cents to $2.94 a pound.

The dollar dipped to 109.67 yen from 110.16 yen. The euro fell to $1.1742 from $1.1769.