US STOCKS-Tech and retailers pull Wall Street sharply lower

(Clarifies in 5th paragraph that Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN - news) forecast was Thursday, not Tuesday)

* Indexes on track to close down 3 pct this week

* Cisco's forecast drags on tech stocks

* Dept. store chains' weak outlook hits retailers

* Indexes down: Dow 1.13 pct, S&P 1.06 pct, Nasdaq (NasdaqGS: NDAQ - news) 1.40 pct

By Noel Randewich

Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . stock indexes fell sharply on Friday, weighed down by a selloff in technology companies after a disappointing forecast from Cisco, while department stores dropped on concerns about the key holiday shopping season.

The three major indexes were on track to end the week down more than 3 percent, snapping a run of ending higher for six weeks in a row.

Dow component Cisco fell 6.4 percent after it gave a weak forecast, citing a slowdown in orders and weak spending outside the United States.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) was the second-biggest drag on the S&P and the Nasdaq and pulled down shares of tech heavyweights including Apple (LSE: 0R2V.L - news) and Oracle (Hanover: ORC.HA - news) .

Retailers were hit by disappointing reports from department store chains. Nordstrom lowered its full-year forecast on Thursday, spooking investors already on edge after Macy's cut its forecast on Wednesday.

Added to that, data showed U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in October, suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending.

The S&P 600 smallcap index was on pace for its worst week in more than three years.

The underperformance of smallcaps relative to larger companies in recent weeks hints at vulnerability in the broader market, said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments in Atlanta (BSE: ATLANTA.BO - news) , which has $50 billion in assets under management.

"You had both earnings concerns and macroeconomic concerns, and what I'd call technical vulnerability, all ganging up on the market this week," Gayle said.

Consumer stocks have been a bright spot this year as weak commodity prices, fears of a global slowdown and the anticipation of a U.S. rate hike have hit most stocks, especially those of materials, energy and industrial companies.

At 2:53 p.m. EST (1953 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.13 percent to 17,251.55 points and the S&P 500 lost 1.06 percent to 2,024.19.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4 percent to 4,935.09.

Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, with the consumer discretionary sector's 2.4 percent fall leading the decliners.

Nordstrom and J.C. Penney both sank over 16 percent.

Fossil slumped 34 percent after the watchmaker said current-quarter sales could fall as much as 16 percent.

The S&P technology index fell 1.8 percent, with Apple down 2.4 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,860 to 1,146. On the Nasdaq, 1,721 issues fell and 1,047 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed no new 52-week highs and 33 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 171 new lows. (Additional reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza Editing by Nick Zieminski)