* Data shows job market's weakness persists
* Philadelphia Fed's survey worse than expected
* U.K. rating outlook cut weighs on sentiment
* Dow off 2.1 pct; S&P off 2.3 pct; Nasdaq off 2.4 pct
For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to late afternoon)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid in a broad
sell-off on Thursday as a disappointing report on the labor
market quashed hopes the economy was on the verge of
recovery.
The slide in Wall Street coincided with a sell-off in
other U.S. asset classes, including Treasury bonds and the
dollar.
A reduced credit rating outlook for Britain also heightened
investor concern that similar actions may loom elsewhere as
governments around the world spend billions to revive growth.
(For details, see [])
Shares of big manufacturers dropped, with United
Technologies Corp <UTX.N> falling 2.5 percent to $50.45, while
Boeing Co <BA.N> shed 3.3 percent to $43.10. The big U.S.
aircraft maker left its full-year forecast unchanged on
Thursday.
"This market really has jumped on the basis that possibly
the recession could end sometime later this year or early
next year," said Peter Lewis, fund manager at Murphy Capital
Management, in Gladstone, New Jersey.
"But we have to strip away the fact and realize these
reports are still bad, and by no means is this market ready to
take off."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dropped 174.99
points, or 2.08 percent, to 8,247.05. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 21.10 points, or 2.34 percent, to
882.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> lost 41.85 points,
or 2.42 percent, to 1,685.99.
Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries plunged after the government
said it would sell a massive amount of new debt next week,
while the U.S. dollar earlier fell to its lowest level this
year against a basket of currencies.
Investors also pummeled technology shares. Apple Inc
<AAPL.O> was the Nasdaq's top drag, down 1.8 percent at
$123.57. Tech companies' fortunes are closely linked to a
growing economy. All but two of the Dow's 30 stocks lost
ground.
U.S. government data showed ongoing claims rose to a fresh
record as the recession battered employment, but the number of
workers filing new claims for jobless aid declined 12,000 last
week. []
The Philadelphia Fed's survey of manufacturing conditions
for the U.S. mid-Atlantic region contracted in May for the
eighth straight month, but the deterioration improved slightly
from April. []
The economic data came one day after the U.S. Federal
Reserve offered a more pessimistic view for economic recovery,
deflating some of the optimism that had underpinned the stock
market's recent rally from 12-year lows in early March.
The S&P rallied 37.4 percent from its bear market closing
low in early March to a peak on May 8, but it has now retraced
some of those gains amid concerns about the economy and a
series of large secondary stock offerings from banks. The
index is now up around 30 percent from its March 9 low.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)
