US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with the Nasdaq down 3 percent, as an outlook and comments by the CEO of tech bellwether Cisco Systems Inc raised worries that credit market turmoil was putting a damper on business spending.
The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 index each slid more than 1 percent, a day after the stock market's heavy losses gave the Nasdaq its worst percentage decline since the February 27 sell-off. Shares of International Business Machines Corp, the technology services company, were the biggest drag on the Dow.
Cisco's chief executive said late Wednesday his company suffered dramatic decreases in orders from banks and retailers, triggering concerns about Cisco's growth prospects, which depends heavily on business spending.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 184.85 points, or 1.39 percent, at 13,115.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 20.55 points, or 1.39 percent, at 1,455.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 82.94 points, or 3.02 percent, at 2,665.82. Shares of Cisco, the largest maker of computer networking equipment, led the Nasdaq's decline. Cisco fell 8.6 percent to $29.95.
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