Apple and Intel push US stocks lower
Troubles in the technology sector pushed stocks lower today, with Apple Computer Inc. and a downgrade of Intel Corp. leading the market downward.
Investor worries about consumer spending intensified after Apple’s lower-than-expected third-quarter revenues. They got more troubling news from Prudential’s downgrade of Intel, which said the company could face disappointing revenues and margins for as long as the next year.
The company news hit an already bruised market, as it followed nasty declines on Wall Street last week.
Investors are anxious about Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and high energy costs, issues that could hang over the market for months.
“There’s been nothing to trigger the kind of selloff we’ve seen yesterday and today,” said Brian Bush, director of equity research, Stephens Inc.
“I don’t see a logical explanation, other than just pure nervous speculation and fear.”
Stocks had opened higher after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a speech that the economy was weathering the recent jump in energy prices without major disruptions.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36.26, or 0.35%, to 10,216.91.
Broader stock indicators were also lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 7.19, or 0.61%, to 1,177.68, while the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index fell 23.62, or 1.15%, to 2,037.47.
