NEW YORK — Worse-than-expected economic data and disappointing results at Microsoft Corp. sent Wall Street sharply lower today, extending a new streak of stock volatility into a third day. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 150 points.

Microsoft surprised investors by reporting its fiscal second-quarter earnings early — and the news was not good. The software giant posted an 11 percent drop in profits and said it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months.

The company said deteriorating global economic conditions and lower revenue from PC software forced it to cut back. The company also said it is unable to provide any profit and revenue guidance for the rest of the year due to market volatility.

The disappointing report came on top of more downbeat economic readings.

The Labor Department said the number of first-time jobless benefit claims jumped to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ended Jan. 17 from a revised 527,000 the previous week. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast claims would increase to 540,000.

"Unemployment numbers are bad, and might get a little worse," said Roy Williams, chief executive of Prestige Wealth Management Group. "Everyone is in a defensive mode right now."

New data from the Commerce Department showed the housing market continued to weaken in December. Construction of new homes and apartments plunged to an all-time low annual rate of 550,000 units last month. The December number was 15.5 percent below November's figure, which had been the weakest on record.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow fell 133.89 or 1.63 percent, to 8,094.21.