NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. markets slid hard Thursday after the Labor and Commerce departments released data pointing to a sluggish recovery.
In Washington, the Senate confirmed Ben Bernanke's second term as Federal Reserve chairman, but the news was too late to affect markets.
Earlier, the Labor Department said 8,000 fewer workers filed for first time unemployment benefits in the week ending Jan. 23. The Commerce Department reported a slight increase in durable orders, up 0.3 percent in December, which was short of expectations.
By close, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 115.70 points, 1.13 percent, to 10,120.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 1.18 percent, 12.97 points, to 1,084.53. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stocks lost 1.91 percent, 42.41, to 2,179.00.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 799 stocks advanced and 2,236 declined on a volume of 5.4 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury bill rose 2/32 to yield 3.642 percent.
The euro fell to $1.397 from Wednesday's $1.4022. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 89.91 yen from Wednesday's 90.05 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 1.58 percent, 162.21, to 10,413.29, rising after four days of declines.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 1.37 percent, 71.73, to 5,145.74.
