By Benjamin Pimentel
Technology stocks fell sharply early Monday in a broad-based
sell off triggered by renewed concerns about the health of the
global economy.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) shed more than 40 points in
the opening minutes, tumbling back more than 2% to 1,941, after
flirting with the 2,000 mark over the past week.
Virtually every major tech stock was in the red, with shares of
Google Inc. (GOOG), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Dell
Inc. (DELL) falling more than 2%.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) traded down 1.9% as the computing giant
geared up for its quarterly report on Tuesday.
Despite the market decline, analysts hope H-P's results will
point to a stabilizing tech market.
"Recent industry data points indicate stability in the
enterprise market while consumer and government markets remain
relatively healthy helped by fiscal stimulus," Kaufman Bros.
analyst Shaw Wu said Monday in a note on H-P.
But declines in overseas markets highlighted fears that the
worst is not over.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was also down 2.4%,
while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off 2.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 180 points at
last check.