Market falls for 6th day

- Stocks dropped for a sixth straight session on Wednesday, led by the Nasdaq's 3 percent slide as profit forecasts from Apple Inc and Motorola added to recession fears.

For the second day, the Nasdaq crossed the threshold that signals a bear market.

After Tuesday's closing bell, Apple forecast a quarterly profit below analysts' expectations and reported disappointing holiday-season iPod shipments. By midday on Wednesday, Apple's stock sank 18 percent to $127.47 on the Nasdaq.

Mobile phone maker Motorola Inc forecast a loss for the current quarter and said it expects a challenging year. Motorola shares lost 22.7 percent to $9.53 and ranked among the biggest percentage losers on the New York Stock Exchange.

The news from Apple, Motorola and others underscored concerns about the health of the U.S. consumer. In addition, Coach Inc's chief executive said consumers in the United States are already acting as if they were in a recession.

"The market fell because of bad news on Motorola and Apple," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC, in Lisle, Illinois.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 218.91 points, or 1.83 percent, at 11,752.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 28.31 points, or 2.16 percent, at 1,282.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 72.36 points, or 3.16 percent, at 2,219.91.

Earlier, the Dow and S&P were down 2 percent.

Kelli Hill, portfolio manager at San Francisco-based Ashfield Capital Partners, said she doesn't think the economy is in a recession, but that "pockets of weakness" exist.

Commodity and energy companies' shares also fell. Gold and copper miner Freeport-McMoRan's shares dropped 12.4 percent to $71.43 after the company posted a lower fourth-quarter profit, while ConocoPhillips fell 3.4 percent to $68.73 after it gave a weak production outlook.

On the plus side were financial companies, which gained for a second day after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by 75 basis points in an emergency move to forestall a recession.

The S&P financials index rose 2.1 percent.

The Nasdaq crossed the threshold of a bear market, which is defined as falling 20 percent or more from a recent closing high. But to confirm the onset of a bear cycle, a prolonged period in which investment prices fall, the index needs to end at least 20 percent off its closing peak.

Both the S&P 500 and Dow were also near bear market levels.

Besides Apple and Motorola, shares of other major technology companies, including Google Inc, fell in their wake. Google shares shed almost 8 percent to $538.47.