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Tech stocks are leading a modest market decline after disappointing results from Intel. Late-Tuesday, the chip giant posted earnings and profits that were below expectations. And the company's profit outlook also fell shy of analysts forecasts . The report is fueling talk that the U.S. economy is actually in - or heading into - a recession. Intel's Chief Financial Officer admitted to being "a little bit cautious" on the state of the U.S. economy. But..... using Intel's lower-than-expected outlook to build the case for a recession may be over-reaching. Intel CFO Stacy Smith. SOUNDBITE: Stacy Smith, chief financial officer, Intel (English) saying: "Certainly the headlines I think has everybody a bit cautious as we start the year. The headlines are based on real economic data that would suggest the U.S. is slowing a bit. But in terms of our business...we did not see it slowing in the fourth quarter and we still see things as being pretty robust as we start the year." Analysts, however, are still taking the pessimistic view - with several Wall Street firms cutting their price target for the stock. In other earnings news... profits at JP Morgan Chase dropped 24 percent, which was bigger than expected. But revenues came in ahead of expectations. And the bank only had to write-down $1.3 billion in mortgage related loans. That's no-where near the $10 billion write-down at Citigroup. Crude oil is falling sharply - dipping below $90 for the first time in a month. U.S. crude supplies rose for the first time in 9 weeks - suggesting a weakening economy is causing a fall-off in demand. For Reuters. I'm Conway Gittens.