NEW YORK — Stocks fell sharply Friday as investors, unnerved by an unexpected revenue warning from Intel, gave up hope the economy and earnings would soon improve. The Dow industrials plummeted more than 200 points and the Nasdaq composite more than 100.

        Investors found plenty of reasons to sell. Late Friday, Cisco Systems became the third big high-tech company to announce a bleak outlook this week, following Intel and Yahoo! And the government said the nation's employers created more jobs than the market expected, decreasing the chances of a big interest rate cut this month.

        The Dow ended a five-day winning streak and skidded 213.63 to 10,644.62, according to preliminary calculations.

        The Nasdaq composite index plummeted 115.95 to 2,052.78, its lowest close since Dec. 17, 1998, when it stood at 2,043.88.

        The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dove 31.32 to 1,233.42.

        The latest tech sell-off came as the Nasdaq approached the one-year anniversary of its record high close — 5,048.62 set on March 10, 2000.

        The composite has slid about 59 percent from that high, and many of its stocks are trading at depressed levels. Intel, for example, is trading about 75 percent below its March 10, 2000, closing price of $120.19.

        “The bottom line is, you are in a major bear market for technology and it hasn't gotten any better,” said Gary Kaltbaum, a technical analyst for First Union Securities.

        In addition to the latest bad news from the tech sector, the market was smarting from a Labor Department report that said the nation's employers created 135,000 jobs in February, well ahead of analysts' forecasts of about 75,000. The data, indicating increasing strength in the economy, might relieve some pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates as a way of stimulating business activity.

        Analysts said the market now expects the Fed to lower rates by a quarter point, or perhaps not at all, when it meets March 20. Wall Street had been hoping for a half-point reduction.

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