Durable Goods Plunge Surprise 3.1% In Nov., Worst Since Sept. '02; May Temper '04 Forecasts; New jobless claims drop to lowest since Jan. '01; new home sales off again.(A)

Byline: JED GRAHAM

Big-ticket orders to U.S. factories took a surprisingly steep fall in November, but new jobless claims last week dipped to the lowest level in nearly three years, two reports showed Wednesday.

Durable goods orders fell 3.1% from October, the Commerce Department said, far worse than the 1% increase expected on Wall Street. The biggest decline since September 2002 wiped out much of October's increase, which was revised up to 4% from 3.4%.

Capital goods orders, one of the best indicators of capital spending, fell 5.9%, excluding defense and aircraft orders. The decline followed gains of 1.5% in October and 6% in September. Information …