Stocks extended losses as eurozone fears persisted and a preliminary report showed that Chinese manufacturing slowed sharply. Also, a lackluster report on the U.S. job market added to the gloomy mood. Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 in the latest week to 393,000, while analysts expected 391,000. Tech stocks closed mostly in the negative territory, with Pandora Media, Netflix and Groupon among the decliners ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the U.S. Netflix fell another $ 3% after the company said it plans to sell $400 million in stock and debt. It also warned it could post a loss for 2012. Groupon lost 15.5% on fears about rising competition. Pandora shed more than 11% after the co. reported upbeat quarterly results, but gave a forecast that could miss estimates. After the market close eBay advanced 1.2% ahead of the start of the holiday shopping season. In regular session retailers had been under pressure following data that consumer spending decreased in October. The slowdown in spending came as a worrying sign ahead of the key holiday sales period. Implied volatility surged above the 30 level on moderate volumes.
