Last updated November 19, 2009: 4:30 PM ET --- The major U.S. equity indices closed lower Thursday after investors dumped stocks in favor of safer assets due to more discouraging signs of a slow economic recovery. The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3% last month, weaker than the 0.5% gain that economists had expected. The index climbed 1% in September. The Mortgage Bankers Association said more than 14% of American homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. The Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 505,000, which was inline with economists expectations. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index rose more than 9%, showing more signs of the market's uneasiness. In corporate news, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) reported Q3 EPS of $0.23 cents, ex-items, missing consensus estimates of $0.28. Revenues in the quarter fell 15% year-over-year to $12.9 billion, and came in short of consensus estimates of $13.2 billion. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares fell more than 4% after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) downgraded the stock. The Dow Jones Industrial Average close 0.90% lower at 10.332.44, the S&P500 was down 1.34% at 1,094.90, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.66% at 2,156.82.

Contact Chip Brian

SmarTrend analyzes over 5,000 securities simultaneously throughout the trading day and provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time. To get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.TradeTheTrend.com.

Get exclusive, actionable insight into how the market is expected to trend prior to market open with our free morning newsletter. Sign up at www.TradeTheTrend.com/signup.html