Stocks Sag Under Jobless Numbers

In company news, bond fund manager Pimco, part of Allianz (AZ Quote), named Mohamed El-Erian as chief executive. El-Erian replaces Bill Thompson, who retires at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, hedge fund Atticus Capital refuted rumors it is closing down. Earlier this week, fellow fund Ospraie Management shuttered its business after making bad bets on commodities.

Shares of Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) appeared to be headed for a rough day after Goldman Sachs slapped a "conviction sell" sticker on the stock, saying it foresees more asset writedowns in Merrill's future.

Elsewhere, General Electric (GE Quote) said it would sell its warranty-management business to insurance company Assurant (AIZ Quote) for $140 million.

Cigarette maker Altria (MO Quote) is in negotiations to purchase chew-tobacco producer UST (UST Quote), according to a report on CNBC's Web site.

Contributing to bearishness in the sector, mobile-phone maker Nokia (NOK Quote) was also hurting after saying its market share would probably decline in the third quarter.

Separately, a Wall Street Journal report said that PC maker Dell (DELL Quote) is trying to sell its computer factories in a bid to remain competitive.

In one bright spot, SanDisk (SNDK Quote) jumped 26% after Samsung said it may be interested in buying the company.

As for earnings, video-game maker Take-Two (TTWO Quote) said Thursday after the close that it swung to a profit from a year ago and raised guidance. And ahead of the opening bell, chipmaker National Semiconductor (NSM Quote) reported a profit that rose year over year but its sales outlook disappointed, sending shares lower.