Stocks tumble on job cuts and fears about the economy

News that Motorola plans to cut up to 4,000 additional jobs sent the stock market down sharply today.

Investors grew more pessimistic about the prospects of a quick turnaround for the economy and company earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 99.10 at 10,781.45. The weakness in technology stocks also pushed the Nasdaq composite index down 91.09 to 2,470.97, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 17.77 to 1314.76.

Motorola's announcement today was not a huge surprise, given the company's previous 5,000-plus job cuts since December in its mobile phone business.

But it accelerated a technology sell-off already under way on more general concerns that the sector will suffer in the months ahead as businesses and consumers spend less. Motorola fell 92 cents to $18.90.

Dell dropped $2.63 to $23.44, a 10% loss, on a Wall Street Journal article that the computer-maker was considering job cuts.

Future performance worries also hurt Nortel Networks, which fell $2.20 to $30.50, and Oracle was down $3.56, or 13%, at $23.56.

Financial and pharmaceuticals sectors were stronger, reflecting investors' desire for less volatile stocks. Banker J P Morgan Chase rose 27 cents to $51.95, while pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson climbed 35 cents to $94.98. Utilities also benefited; Duke Energy climbed 27 cents to $41.30.

But retailers trailed for a second session after Thursday's sell-off on worries that the sector will struggle in a sluggish economy. Wal-Mart dropped $1.90 to $50.40.

Also today, Lucent fell $1.53 to $15.36, a 9% drop, on a Journal report that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating accounting practices at the company.