US STOCKS-Wall St drops on Bernanke comments, chip makers

(Updates to show Dow, S&P 500 losing more than 1 percent)

NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with all three major indexes down more than 1 percent, after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said he saw sluggish economic growth ahead and unfavorable brokerage reports on two semiconductor makers sparked a sell-off in technology shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 148.27 points, or 1.18 percent, at 12,403.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 15.45 points, or 1.13 percent, at 1,351.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 33.59 points, or 1.41 percent, at 2,340.34. (Reporting by Jennifer Coogan; editing by Leslie Adler)