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U.S. tech stocks lead broader market lower
North America News.Net
Friday 29th August, 2008
Equity markets were weaker Friday, hit largely by a sell-off on the Nasdaq.
Dell Computers fuelled the negative sentiment by warning spending on IT was contracting in many parts of the world. "The company sees continued conservatism in IT spending in the U.S., which has extended into Western Europe and several countries in Asia," the company said in a statement.
A day earlier Dell reported fiscal second quarter revenue of $16.4 billion, up 11% year-over-year and driven by a 19% increase in worldwide product shipments. Earnings per share were $0.31 and cash flow from operations was $1.1 billion.
Despite leading into the Labor weekend, selling accelerated towards the end of the day. At the close of trading the Nasdaq Composite was down 44.12 points or 1.83% at 2,367.52.
The Dow Jones Industrials were off 171. 22 points or 1.46% at 11,543.96.
The Standard and Poor's 500 was off 17.86 points or 1.37% at 1,282.82.
The price of oil fell 13 cents to $115.46 a barrel. On currency markets the U.S. dollar was stronger, except against the Japanese yen.
Around the New York close the British pound was sharply lower at 1.8225, mired near two-year lows. The euro traded at 1.4669, and the Swiss franc at 1.1010.
The Australian dollar fell to .8585, and the Canadian dollar to 1.0617.
The Japanese yen went against the trend, rising across the board. It was last quoted against the dollar at 108.79, and at 159.60 versus the euro.
In Europe equity markets closed higher. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.63%, the German DAX 0.03%, the Swiss SMI 0.67%, and the Paris-based CAC 40 0.47%.
Strong gains were recorded in Asia where the BSE 30 in India stole the limelight, rising 3.67%. The Shanghai Composite was up 2.01% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng 1.38%.
The Australian All Ordinaries firmed by 1.40%, while the Singapore Straits Times gained 1.82%.
In the Americas, the Brazil Bovespa closed down 1.24% on Friday. Canada's S&P TSX was up 0.15%. The Argentine MerVal inched up 0.01%, while the Mexican IPC fell 0.58%.
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