Dow Drops 235 Points, Nasdaq Ends Largely Intact

Updated from 3:34 p.m. EDT

Blue-chip stocks were punished throughout the day and the

Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower, as worse-than-expected unemployment numbers and a profit warning from AMR

(AMR)

sent investors fleeing.

The Dow lost 234.99 points, or 2.4%, to 9605.85. The

Nasdaq fell 17.98 points, or 1.1%, to 1687.66, and the

S&P 500 was down 20.62, or 1.9%, to 1085.78.

AMR was off $1, or 3.2%, at $30.15 after saying its third-quarter loss would be wider than expected and warning that it might lose money in the fourth quarter, as well. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate hit a four-year high in August.

Qwest

(Q)

shed $1.12, or 5.8%, to $18.14 and was among the most active stocks on the Big Board.

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

bounced around all day but closed down 21 cents, or 0.8%, to $25.89.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

was down 62 cents, or 1.1% to $55.40.

Compaq

(CPQ)

was also active on the

New York Stock Exchange

, where it traded up 24 cents, or 2.3%, to $10.59.

AOL Time Warner

(AOL)

continued to slide, shedding $2.81, or 8%, to $32.28.

Indigo

(INDG)

was up 66 cents, or 10.5%, to $6.96.

Hewlett-Packard

(HWP)

said Thursday that it will acquire the rest of Indigo for as much as $882 million in cash and stock. Hewlett-Packard rose 38 cents, or 2.2%, to $18.08.

Overseas, European stocks fell as telecom equipment makers were hurt by

Motorola's

(MOT)

warning. In London, the FTSE 100 was losing 106 points, or 2%, to 5098. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 134 points, or 1.3%, to 10,517. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 280 points, or 2.6%, to 10,384. In currencies, the dollar pulled back against the yen and the euro after the jobless report, but came off its earlier lows.