Dow Dives 268 Points, Flops Around 10,000

Factory orders grew 1% in December, according to the Census Bureau, surpassing expectations for a mild 0.6% uptick.

"Global concerns and job fears are overshadowing same-store sales," said Kenny Landgraf, president and founder of Kenjol Capital Management. "Retailers managed to get their numbers up but the debt scare out of Europe and fears ahead of tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls report, are giving people reasons to err on the conservative side."

Shares of Cisco(CSCO) were seeing heavy volume on the Nasdaq and were the Dow's only positive performer after posting strong results late Wednesday and upping its sales-growth guidance for the fiscal third quarter ending in April. The stock finished higher by 9 cents, or 0.4%, to $23.16.

Bank of America (BAC) was the Dow's weakest performer and saw swift volume on the New York Stock Exchange, which had a listed volume of nearly 5.9 billion.

Bank of America settled a regulatory complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday. But New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed fraud charges against the bank. Cuomo alleges that former CEO Ken Lewis and former Chief Financial Officer Joe Price led shareholders astray regarding the bank's merger with Merrill Lynch.

Cigna(CI) swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and surpassed analysts' estimates as it reaffirmed its 2010 earnings guidance. Shares, however, went lower by $1.24, or 3.6%, to $33.52.

Shares of MasterCard(MA) were getting battered, down by $25.47, or 10.3%, at $222.11, after the company missed expectations. Rival Visa(V), meanwhile, posted fourth-quarter results that were better than expected. The shares fell 47 cents, at $83.05.

Europe's second-largest oil company, Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A), said fourth-quarter adjusted earnings fell to $2.8 billion from $3.9 billion a year ago and described its outlook for 2010 as "uncertain." The stock slumped 4.1%, to $54.42.