Stocks Tumble Again

Stocks fell for a second day Thursday on fears of slowing growth and rising inflation.

Hawkish comments from San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen provided the inflation fears, and warnings from several homebuilders added the slowdown worries. The news came on top of reports Wednesday that showed slowing growth and productivity and rising labor costs, a recipe for “stagflation,” or stagnant growth combined with persistent inflation pressures.

The chip sector was once again in the spotlight. Kulicke & Soffa surged 7.5% after raising guidance, but after the close, National Semi fell 3% on a warning.

AMD managed a small gain despite a warning from ATI , which AMD plans to acquire.

Palm was another mover, falling 8% after warning of slower than expected Treo sales.

Apple gained 4% on reports that it could launch a video download service next week. After the close, Amazon beat Apple to the punch with its own download service.

The Nasdaq lost 12 to 2155, the S&P 500 fell 6 to 1294, and the Dow lost 75 to 11,331. Volume declined to 2.32 billion shares on the NYSE, but rose to 1.9 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 21-11 on the NYSE, and 19-10 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 65% on the NYSE, and 71% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 48-42 on the NYSE, and 48-58 on the Nasdaq.