AMD, Adobe Lead Stock Sell-Off

Sales warnings from Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) and AMD (NYSE: AMD) weighed on the tech sector on Thursday, while the broader market fell on worries about the fate of U.S. automakers and Friday’s looming jobs report.

Adobe lost 9% and AMD 5% on their warnings, which they attributed to the dramatic economic slowdown that began with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in mid-September.

AMD said the consumer market is particularly weak. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), which issued its own warning last month, lost 6.5%.

Cirrus (NASDAQ: CRUS) plunged 31% after lowering sales guidance, but Nokia (NYSE: NOK) managed a 4% gain despite lowering its market outlook.

Despite generally dismal November retail sales, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) ended the day 4.7% higher on a Barclays upgrade that cited the company’s strong competitive position in a slowing economy.

Synopsis (NASDAQ: SNPS) was another standout, jumping 12% on a better than expected earnings report and a Citigroup upgrade.

AT&T (NYSE: T) was the latest company to announce massive layoffs. Its shares lost 3%.

Concern that Congress may not bail out automakers and worries ahead of Friday’s monthly government jobs report sent the broader market sharply lower, but stocks finished off the day’s worst levels. Friday’s Labor Department report is expected to show a loss of 325,000 to 350,000 jobs for November.

The Nasdaq lost 46 to 1445, the S&P fell 25 to 845, and the Dow tumbled 215 to 8376. Volume declined to 6.6 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.08 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led by a 27-10 margin on the NYSE, and 20-8 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 78% on the NYSE, and 83% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 28-206 on the NYSE, and 3-134 on the Nasdaq.