U.S. stocks fell for a second day, with the tech and financial sector leading the decline as investors considered weak economic data that was released earlier this week.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. both fell to the lowest prices since August after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Brad Hintz cut his first-quarter profit estimates by more than 40 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index retreated 11.93 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,33-.60 at 2:39 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 99.40, or 0.8 percent, to 12,184.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 29.23, or 1.3 percent, to 2,270.55.

About three stocks declined for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

Indexes tumbled on Thursday after a weak regional manufacturing report added to concerns that the economy is headed for a recession, if not already in one.

Big technology losers included Oracle Corporation which fell 2.8 percent , Intel shed 3.2 percent, Microsoft lost 3.3 percent and Apple dropped the most, shedding 3.9 percent.

Shares in Asia and Europe also fell. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.8 percent today after RWE AG, Germany's second-largest utility, announced the company's first loss in 8 years.

Meanwhile, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.6 percent as Toyota Motor Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. dropped on renewed concern the U.S. will enter a recession.

Apple