U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday, with major indexes dropping more than 1 percent as weak consumer sentiment data fueled concerns about the strength of an economic recovery.

Boeing Co was the top drag on the Dow Jones industrial average after the aerospace company said an Italian supplier ceased production in June on two sections of Boeing's long-delayed 787 Dreamliner plane because of structural flaws..

Shares of Boeing slid 4.4 percent to $44.59.

Data from the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed consumer confidence fell more than expected in August, dropping to its lowest level since March.

We had a nice move up to 1,000 on the S&P 500, which was a big level. We were holding there, it seemed like everything was OK, said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co in New York. And then the numbers that came out today really weren't that great.

If it was that, or if we got a little bit over-extended here, it kind of took the market down here a little bit.

With consumers accounting for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, the drop in sentiment underscores the worry that the economic recovery could be weak.

The Dow <.DJI> dropped 137.70 points, or 1.47 percent, to 9,260.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 15.31 points, or 1.51 percent, to 997.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 37.24 points, or 1.85 percent, to 1,972.11.

Retail stocks fell on the poor sentiment data and a weak outlook from department store JC Penney Inc .

JC Penney tumbled 6.2 percent to $31.27 while the S&P Retail index <.RLX> fell 2 percent after the department store signaled that its full-year results could fall short of expectations.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co , which climbed 3.7 percent to $34.18, was a bright spot among retailers after it reported second-quarter results and said its international growth plans remained on track.

Among other economic indicators on Friday, U.S. industrial output gained for the first time in nine months in July, rising more than expected, and U.S. consumer prices suggested that inflation would remain mild.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)