* The S&P 500 index of technology stocks <.GSPT> slipped 3.5 percent.

* According to ADP, a private employment service, U.S. private employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, up sharply from the revised 476,000 jobs lost in November and far more than economists estimated.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 226.36 points, or 2.51 percent, at 8,788.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 25.01 points, or 2.68 percent, at 909.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 48.73 points, or 2.95 percent, at 1,603.65.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by James Dalgleish)