By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks headed for a broadly
negative trading session Thursday, as losses from Cisco Systems
Inc. and NetApp Inc. stood out among a slate of decliners.
Cisco (CSCO) shares fell by 7% to $24.57. On Wednesday, the
networking-equipment giant gave a less-than-enthusiastic earnings
report and forecast, and said it would cut 4,000 jobs, or about 5%
of its workforce. Chief Executive John Chambers said Cisco was
having to adjust to a "challenging" and "inconsistent" economy
Cisco was headed for its worst single-day performance since May
10, 2012, when its stock price fell 10.5%
NetApp (NTAP) was off by 2.2% at $41.41 a share. Late Wednesday,
NetApp reported a fiscal first-quarter profit that rose 28% from
the year-ago quarter, but gave a second-quarter outlook that was
potentially below the estimates from Wall Street analysts.
Dell Inc. (DELL) was down slightly at $13.71 a share as the PC
company said it would release its second-quarter results after
Thursday's market close. Analysts expect Dell to report earnings of
24 cents a share.
Dell said it wouldn't be holding a conference call to discuss
its results. Dell shareholders are scheduled to vote on Sept. 12 on
a proposal by Chief Executive Michael Dell to take the company
private.
Adding to the sentiment Thursday was reaction to a flurry of
downbeat data about the U.S. economy, including a disappointing
report on industrial production during July.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was taking a beating, falling
1.5% to 3,613, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell
almost 2%.
Other notable decliners included Yelp Inc. (YELP), off by 5.5%;
Seagate Technology (STX), which fell by 3%; Groupon Inc. (GRPN),
off by almost 5%; Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM), which gave up 3% and
eBay Inc. (EBAY), down almost 4%.
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