Stocks fall as execs question economic recovery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as downbeat comments on the economy from tech company Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and retail chain Kohl's Corp (KSS.N) cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. recovery.

Cisco's warnings about a still weak labor market and Kohl's saying it was unconvinced a recovery was at hand underscored the downbeat mood among investors already rattled by fears of sovereign debt defaults in the euro zone. Cisco shares fell 4.5 percent to $25.53 and Kohl's lost 5.8 percent to $53.81.

In addition, a report showed the number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits fell only slightly last week, which failed to back up sharply improving monthly payrolls data and suggested the unemployment rate will remain high.

Tom Alexander, head of Alexander Trading in Savannah, Georgia, said retail stocks are highly leveraged to a recovery and sensitive to suggestions of economic weakness.

"That's going to be an area of the economy that's always brought into question if they start questioning the recovery," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 113.96 points, or 1.05 percent, to end at 10,782.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 14.23 points, or 1.21 percent, to 1,157.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 30.66 points, or 1.26 percent, to close at 2,394.36.

The S&P 500 gained 5.47 percent in the first three days of the week -- its biggest three-day run since July 2009. That was after last week's drop of 6.4 percent.

NORDSTROM AND NVIDIA FALL LATE

During Thursday's session, The S&P retail index .RLX fell 3 percent. Investors were cautious ahead of April retail sales data on Friday following last week's poor same-store sales data for the same month.

There is still a question mark over the strength of the consumer, which could prove a weak link in the economic recovery. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of economic activity in the United States.

After the closing bell, results from upscale department store operator Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N), which came in below Wall Street expectations, did nothing to inspire optimism. Nordstrom's stock fell 2.6 percent to $40.20 after hours.

Also after the bell, Nvidia Corp's (NVDA.O) sales forecast for the current quarter came in below Wall Street's target, sending the stock down 2.5 percent to $14.28. That was despite better-than-expected earnings from the graphics chip maker.

HOME BUILDERS SLIDE

During the regular session, Home builders' shares also fell sharply on concerns over the sector's prospects now that a government tax credit for home buyers has expired. KB Home (KBH.N) was the biggest decliner, falling 6.8 percent to $16.53. The Dow Jones index of home builders' shares .DJUSHB fell 4 percent.

Helping to limit the Dow's decline was U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa Inc (AA.N), whose stock rose 2.7 percent to $12.80 on expectations the metal's price could rise if higher Chinese electricity prices cut the global supply of aluminum. Century Aluminum (CENX.O) rose 5.1 percent to $12.69.

Tech stocks stayed in focus after German software company SAP AG (SAPG.DE)(SAP.N) agreed to buy smaller U.S. rival Sybase Inc SY.N for $5.8 billion. Sybase jumped 14.4 percent to $64.22, while the U.S.-listed shares of SAP fell 0.8 percent to $44.54.

"This M&A activity is encouraging because it's being done on the merit of the deal, not simply because they have excess borrowing power," said Rob Stein, managing partner of Astor Asset Management in Chicago.

On the earnings front, Whole Foods Market Inc WFMI.O jumped 5.6 percent to $42.50, boosting consumer stocks after its quarterly profit topped estimates and it raised its full-year forecasts.

U.S.-listed shares of Sony Corp (SNE.N) fell 5.1 percent to $31.53 after it forecast a full-year operating profit that was below expectations.

About 8.85 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, more than eight stocks fell for nearly every five that rose.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)