NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks fell for the fifth consecutive session Thursday, on an expected pullback after a rally and a setback for air carrier UAL, although Intel's improved forecast after the bell could boost stocks Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 114.57 to 8623.28, Charts), Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 11.03 to 906.55, Charts) and the Nasdaq composite (down 19.60 to 1410.75, Charts) all fell a little more than one percent.

After the close of trade, No. 1 chipmaker Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) issued an improved forecast as part of its mid-quarter update.

The company said that its fourth-quarter revenue will be in a range of $6.8 billion to $7.0 billion, an improvement on previous guidance for a range of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion; analysts were looking for about $6.74 billion. The company attributed the improved outlook to better sales in Asia and stronger demand for its microprocessors.

Shares of the stock gained 50 cents to $19.47 in after-hours trade Thursday.

Also affecting trade Friday: the November employment data, due out in the morning. Analysts estimate 35,000 jobs were added last month, and they see the unemployment rate rising to 5.8 percent from October's 5.7 percent, according to Briefing.com.

To close higher for the week, the Dow would need to gain more than 273 points, while the Nasdaq would need to add more than 68 points.

Stocks continued a mild, four-session pullback Thursday that comes on the heels of eight weeks of gains for the Dow industrials, a decline that traders said was not entirely unexpected.

Adding to the negativity, United Airlines parent UAL (UAL: Research, Estimates) was dealt a blow that seemed to push the air carrier toward a likely bankruptcy filing. A federal panel turned down the company's request for $1.8 billion in loan guarantees, saying the company's business plan was based on unrealistic revenue projections.

The New York Stock Exchange halted trade of the stock prior to Thursday's open, saying that it expected news about UAL, although the company said it had nothing to announce. Finally, the stock opened around 1:30 p.m. ET and fell sharply in active trade.

Near the close of trade, Dow Jones announced that UAL will be removed from the Dow Transportation average effective at the opening of trade Friday. The stock will be replaced by package delivery company UPS (UPS: down $0.16 to $63.75, Research, Estimates).

The UAL news also hurt the shares of companies that make aircraft parts.

UAL is one of Boeing's (BA: down $0.97 to $32.96, Research, Estimates) biggest customers and it's also United Technologies (UTX: down $1.59 to $61.16, Research, Estimates) customer. Both Dow stocks fell sharply on the news.

However, shares of UAL competitors rallied, including Continental Airlines (CAL: up $0.34 to $8.58, Research, Estimates) and Northwest Airlines (NWAC: up $0.37 to $8.01, Research, Estimates).

"UAL is certainly a negative for the market, but the news wasn't entirely unexpected," said Peter Cardillo, director of research at Global Partners Securities. "You're also seeing a combination of other negative corporate news and jitters ahead of tomorrow's November jobs number, despite the positive weekly numbers this morning."

Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: down $1.09 to $23.61, Research, Estimates) fell amid a broadly negative note on the financial sector out of Merrill Lynch.

In addition, the retail sector was weak after a spate of mixed reports on November sales at stores open a year or more. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: down $1.42 to $53.02, Research, Estimates), the No. 1 retailer, reported only a small 2.6 percent rise, at the low end of its guidance. Target (TGT: down $0.52 to $34.64, Research, Estimates) reported sales fell 6.7 percent.

But shares of McDonald's (MCD: up $0.41 to $18.78, Research, Estimates) managed a turnaround after the company announced at midday the retirement of its chairman and CEO, who has been heavily criticized for the company's recent weak performance. The stock had fallen earlier in the session amid reports of an explosion in a restaurant in Indonesia that killed two people, reviving fears of terrorist attacks after a bombing on the island of Bali last month that killed more than 180 people.

On the upside, market sentiment was protected from worse erosion by some signs of improvement in the labor market. Weekly jobless claims declined last week to 355,000, when economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting a rise to 374,000 from the previous week. The report is a lead-in to Friday's November employment report.

Sentiment also found support from across the Atlantic after the European Central Bank (ECB) surprised investors by cutting its key interest rate by a half percentage point Thursday, its first cut in more than a year. The move was an attempt to revive the sluggish European economy and could also be beneficial to U.S. business.

European stocks abandoned an early rally following the ECB decision, closing lower on the weakness in U.S. markets. Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 1 percent.

Treasury prices rose, pushing the 10-year note yield down to 4.12 percent. The dollar gained against the euro, but slipped versus the yen.

Light crude oil futures gained 58 cents to $27.29 a barrel in New York. Gold was a little higher.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners topped advancers 3 to 2 as 1.22 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners 3 to 2 as 1.44 billion shares traded.