Market slides on Bernanke's lack of details

Stocks slid Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no new insight into whether the central bank will act soon to prop up the U.S. economy.

In a speech closely watched by investors, Bernanke said that the Fed will consider a range of steps at its two-day meeting that begins Sept. 21, but he offered no specific plans. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 100 points shortly after Bernanke's remarks began at 1:30 p.m.

"The implications are that the Fed is going to act, but the market is disappointed because he was a little short on details," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James.

Concerns about the direction of the economy have pushed stocks lower each month since April. Many traders now say that the stock market is pricing in the assumption that the economy is in a recession, which would limit jobs growth and crimp corporate profits.

President Obama will lay out his jobs plan at a joint session of Congress Thursday night. He is expected to announce a $300 billion package that includes tax cuts, additional state aid and spending on infrastructure.

The Dow closed down 119 points, or 1.04 percent, at 11,296. It had been down as many as 131 points.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 12.6, or 1.1 percent, to 1,186. The Nasdaq composite was down 19.8, or 0.8 percent, to 2,529.1. Each index had posted gains earlier in the day.

Cisco Systems led the 30 Dow stocks with a 2 percent gain. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Corp and Boeing each fell 3 percent to pull the average lower.

Investors received mixed economic data before the market opened. First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 414,000. Economists had expected 405,000. The prior week's estimate of new claims was also revised higher.

The weekly report on unemployment applications is an important economic indicator for investors. Rising claims can add to concerns that the job market is stalled and the U.S. economy is headed for another recession. Applications need to fall below 375,000 to indicate sustainable job growth. Last week the government reported there was zero job growth in the U.S. economy in August.

Not all of the economic news Thursday was negative. American exports of cars, airplanes and other goods reached an all-time high in July, the Commerce Department reported. Economists said the jump in exports suggest future growth in the U.S. economy.

"The market is sitting around and trying to piece it all together, "said Rob Stein, the founder and global head of asset management at Astor Asset Management. "For all the volatility that we've had recently, the market is going nowhere."

Yahoo Inc. jumped 4 percent to $14.21 after Third Point, an activist investment fund, disclosed that it has bought a 5.2 percent stake in the troubled Web portal and called for sweeping changes to the board. Yahoo's board fired chief executive Carol Bartz on Tuesday after 2½ years on the job. She harshly criticized the board in an interview published Thursday.