U.S stocks going down

On Thursday, U.S. stocks were down when Microsoft's proposed job cuts and disappointing earnings shook investors, while economic data showed further deterioration in the labor and housing markets. Microsoft Corp's stock fell nearly 12 percent at one point in the session to its lowest level since 1998 and was among the top drags on both the Dow and Nasdaq, after the world's largest software maker said it would cut up to 5 percent of its estimated work force over the next 18 months. The company cautioned that it could no longer offer profit forecasts for the rest of the fiscal year after posting a quarterly profit that fell short of expectations. The tech bellwether shook up Wall Street by releasing its earnings before the opening bell, instead of after the close as expected.