Tech stocks fall on both sides of Atlantic
London shares plunged today after tech stocks took a battering.
Alerts from a number of key firms hit stocks in the US and the UK.
By the close of trading, the FTSE-100 Index of leading stocks was down 109.6 points at 6088.3.
Canadian networking equipment maker Nortel Networks halved its earnings forecast. It will be cutting 10,000 jobs because of the sharp downturn in the US economy. Texan Dell Computers made its first ever job cuts and warned first quarter profits would be below expectations. Hewlett-Packard said problems in its computer business meant it did not expect to return double-digit revenue growth this year.
In the UK, tech and telecom stocks were sent spiralling. Telecom-related stocks were among the hardest hit, with telecom equipment group Spirent heading the Footsie fallers board, dropping nearly 9%, or 43p, to 445p. It was followed closely by Marconi, which was off more than 8%, or 50p at 553p. Vodafone was off 11¾p at 204½p, Colt Telecom was 70p lower at £14, Telewest Communications was down 4¾p at 134¾p and Cable & Wireless fell 21p to 797p. Orange, which floated at around 639p earlier this week, continued to suffer in its first week back on the London Stock Exchange, falling 12p to 561p.
Among the tech stocks, chip designer Arm Holdings was down 7%, or 32½p, at 410½p, computer services group Dimension Data was off 39½p at 425p, while software group Sage was 17p lower at 326p. FTSE-250 stocks which took a battering included telecom equipment group Bookham Technologies, off 46p at 709p, Kingston Communications, down 9¾p at 182p and telecoms firm Thus, off 3¼p at 73¾p.
With little corporate news to ease the tension, investors flocked to defensive stocks.
Retailers were generally on the up, with Boots up 5½p at 610p, Marks & Spencer up 3p at 233p, Woolworths-to-B&Q group Kingfisher rising 4p at 475p and Somerfield 1¾p ahead at 100½p.
Drinks giant Diageo bubbled up 9½p to 692p, chocolate-to-fizzy drinks group Cadbury Schweppes sweetened 6½p to 456½p and pubs and brewing group Greene King frothed up 15½p to 599½p.
Another riser was kettles-to-toasters group Kenwood Appliances, which was up by 15% after agreeing a 100p per share offer from Italian rival De'Longhi, which values the firm at around £45 million. Shares were up 12½p rise to 98½p.
The biggest Footsie risers were Canary Wharf up 23p at 518p, Anglo American up 120p at £47, BG up 6¾p at 267p and BT up 9½p at 599½p. Fallers were Spirent down 43p at 445p, Dimension Data down 39½p at 425p, Marconi down 50p at 553p and Logica down 135p at £15.50.
