Stocks Slide on Data, Europe

U.S. stocks extended their slide on Thursday, with the Dow finishing lower for an 11th out of 12 sessions, as a negative gauge of manufacturing in the Philadelphia region added to worries about Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 156.06 points, or 1.24%, at 12,442.49. The S&P 500 shed 19.94 points, or 1.51% to 1,304.86, a four-month low. The Nasdaq Composite fell 60.35 points, or 2.10%, to 2,813.69.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its manufacturing index sank to -5.8 in May from 8.5 in April, marking the first negative reading since September. Economists polled by MarketWatch were expecting the index to increase to 10.0.

Facebook Inc. priced its initial public offering at $38 per share late Thursday afternoon, coming in at the high end of its estimated range with a $16 billion debut. The social-networking giant’s shares will begin trading Friday morning on the Nasdaq Stock Market, under the ticker symbol “FB.”

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) said late Thursday it has initiated a quarterly dividend of 6 cents a share which will be paid on July 11 to shareholders of record as of June 21. the company also raised its share buyback program by $500 million to $2.5 billion.

Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) reported late Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit was unchanged at $233 million from year-ago results. On a per-share basis, however, the results were up 18% at 47 cents a share compared with 40 cents a year ago, reflecting a 17% drop in the number of outstanding shares. Revenue for the quarter ended April 28, bolstered by stronger sales at its Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, rose 6% to $3.49 billion from $3.3 billion.

Hewlett-Packard Co is considering cutting its workforce by 8 to 10 percent, or a minimum of 25,000 jobs, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as newly installed CEO Meg Whitman strives to return the storied Silicon Valley institution to growth.