NEW YORK, USA - US stocks followed global markets lower Thursday on renewed jitters about the pace of economic recovery and a downgrade of key American firms in the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 93.87 points (0.90 per cent) to end at 10,332.44, in a second consecutive losing session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 36.32 points (1.66 per cent) to 2,156.82 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 14.90 points (1.34 per cent) to 1,094.90.

Wall Street opened with the main European and Asian markets showing losses, after a forecast from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development of a 'modest' rebound from the global economic slump and leading economies facing a dilemma over huge debt and rescue spending.

'Sentiment has soured around the globe,' said Michael Bratus at Moody's Economy.com.

Camilla Sutton at Scotia Capital said the OECD report was viewed in a negative context because it noted 'that there are strong headwinds that will leave unemployment levels high and inflation well contained for some time.'

Joseph Hargett at Schaeffer's Investment Research said the technology sector was facing pressure after a brokerage downgrade of key firms in the sector.

'The bull rally is apparently beginning to wane on Wall Street, and traders appear ready to take some profits off the table,' he said.

He said Bank of America Merrill Lynch's downgrade of eight microchip companies, including Intel and Texas Instruments, was based on 'concerns that inventories are too high unless there's a sharp upturn from the global economy.'

Gregory Drahuschak at Janney Montgomery Scott said that the market 'opened lower and took another step down following the report on mortgage delinquencies.'

He said the market reacted to a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association showing the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to 9.64 per cent.

Among key stocks, Intel slumped 4.08 per cent to 19.30 dollars on the latest broker comments, while rival semiconductor firm Texas Instruments skidded 3.38 per cent to 24.88 dollars.

Investment fund Blackstone shed 1.74 per cent to 15.28 dollars after a company its controls, Pinnacle Foods Group, agreed to buy Birds Eye Foods, the largest US frozen food company, for 1.3 billion dollars.

Time Warner fell 1.58 per cent to 32.30 dollars after providing details on its spinoff of its AOL Internet division, including plans to cut about one-third of its workforce.

The caution on equities helped bonds. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond fell to 3.349 per cent from 3.366 per cent on Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond dipped to 4.288 per cent from 4.299 per cent. Bond yield and prices move in opposite directions.