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NEW YORK -- A darkening outlook for technology companies including Dell and Amazon.com sent the Nasdaq composite index today to its lowest close in more than a year. Dow off 38.5;
Nasdaq drops 145.5Associated Press
The Nasdaq composite index ended the session down 145.51, or 5 percent, at 2,734.98. It was the index's lowest close since Oct. 16, 1999, when the index stood at 2,688.18. The Nasdaq now is down nearly 33 percent so far this year.
The selling also spilled over to blue chips. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.49 to 10,507.58 after moving in and out of positive territory for much of the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 12.88 to 1,336.09. The Dow and S&P 500 are down 8.6 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, for the year.
Decliners beat advancers by a 17-to-11 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,688 up, 1,142 down and 497 unchanged. NYSE volume came to 1.02 billion shares, vs. 924.64 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index slipped 2.60 to 634.33; the American Stock Exchange index sank 4.84 to 873.68; and the Russell 2000 index fell 12.68 to 459.02.
The 10-year Treasury note's price was up 9/32 point, or $2.81 per $1,000 in face value; its yield fell to 5.58 percent from 5.62 percent late yesterday. The 30-year bonds were up 10/32 point and yielded 5.68 percent, down from 5.70 percent late yesterday.
A report showing a drop in consumer confidence further undermined the already shaky high-tech stock sector and heightened fears that the moderating economy will hurt profits for a broad range of U.S. companies. "This just looks like a continuation of the nervousness we've seen for a while," said Mike Weiner, a managing director at Banc One Investment Advisors. "A lot of the tech stocks are still fairly expensive because of the run they've had and they're not attracting new money . . . There are still too many questions about future earnings."