Cliffs Natural tumbles after Nomura downgrade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc tumbled on Friday, extending the stock's recent weakness after Nomura downgraded it to "reduce" from "buy."

The firm also slashed its price target on the stock, dropping it from $18 to $5 to reflect "sharply reduced net asset value" following a decline in iron ore prices.

The price decline "has significant negative implications for medium-term earnings and should severely limit strategic options with regards to potential asset sales." Nomura forecast that the company would report a loss in fiscal 2014.

Cliffs lost 14 percent to $8.59 as the biggest percentage decliner on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the biggest one-day drop for the stock since February 2013, and its volume of 14.7 million shares was well above its 50-day average of 7.7 million.

The stock has been pressured throughout 2014, losing more than two-thirds of its value. It is on track for its 11th decline of the past 13 sessions.

Index snapshot at 1210 EDT:

* S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 17.72 points, or 0.91 percent.

* Nasdaq Comp <.IXIC> was up 46.29 points, or 1.04 percent.

* Dow industrials <.DJI> was up 148.16 pts, or 0.88 percent.

* Russell 2000 <.TOY> was up 12.11 points, or 1.1 percent.

* S&P MidCap <.IDX> was up 10.52 points, or 0.78 percent.

* S&P SmallCap <.SPCY> was up 6.23 points, or 0.99 percent.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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