The technology sector took a beating Friday amid a broad market sell-off that left major market indexes at their lowest point in weeks.
The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index fell 46.14 points, or 3.32 percent, to 1,342.13, fueled by worries of potential war with Iraq and a widening rift between the United States and key allies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 238.46 points, or 2.85 percent, to 8,131.01, while the S&P 500 Index dipped 2.9 percent to 861.
Among technology stocks, Cisco (CSCO), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) topped the most active list, each ending the day down close to five percent. The broad sell-off extended to the majority of firms in the semiconductor, software and telecommunications sectors.
AOL (AOL) stock dipped 3 percent ahead of the company's Wednesday earnings report.
Shares of E-Trade (ET), meanwhile, closed flat following news that Christos Cotsakos, its CEO, will be stepping down.
The bleak trading contained a few bright spots, as shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) edged higher following the company's Thursday afternoon earnings report, which showed record sales and small profit for the fourth quarter of 2002.
Shares of Nortel Networks (NT) also headed up after the telecom gear maker reported better-than-expected results for its most recent quarter. The stock closed up 7.5 percent at $2.58.
