Economic woes hit stocks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Techs gave up gains and blue chips turned lower Thursday morning after a weak regional manufacturing report revived worries that the economy is headed for a recession, if not already in one.

About 2 hours into the session, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index had both lost about 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) was little changed.

All three major stock gauges had risen in the morning, with the tech sector leading the way following an upgrade of Cisco Systems.

But the 10:00 a.m. ET release of the Philadelphia Fed index knocked the wind out of the advance, as investors again worried about the economic slowdown.

Economic news. The February Philadelphia Fed index, a regional reading on manufacturing, tumbled to -24.0 from -20.9 in the previous month. It was expected to improve to -10, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Any reading that is negative suggests contraction in the sector. Any reading that is positive suggests growth.

The January index of leading economic indicators fell 0.1%, as expected. It fell a revised 0.1% in December.

Weekly jobless claims fell last week, the Labor Department reported. But the four-week moving average, seen as a more accurate indicator of the labor market, rose to levels not seen since October 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Corporate news. Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) jumped after Citigroup upgraded it to "buy" from "hold," saying that it offers good value for long-term investors.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) advanced after the company reaffirmed its fourth-quarter profit guidance and lifted its net subscription outlook.

And Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) gained after the company said it had a significant announcement to make at 11:30 a.m. ET that was not related to its proposed $45 billion takeover of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500).

In merger news, Reed Elsevier (RUK), the owner of the LexisNexis service, said it is buying data services firm ChoicePoint for $4.1 billion in cash. Shares of ChoicePoint (CPS) jumped 43%.

Other markets. U.S. light crude oil for April delivery dipped Thursday morning, falling $1 to $98.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The March crude futures contract settled at an all-time high of $100.74 a barrel Wednesday after touching a trading high of $101.32.

Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.8% from 3.9% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold for April delivery rose $9.90 to $947.70 an ounce.