By Gavin Adamson
(April 24 – 17:00 ET) – Investors unloaded more tech stocks after Microsoft’s third quarter growth failed to impress analysts.
The NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 161.81 points to 3,482.70. Microsoft led the way, deflating by more then 17%. Other software stock followed the company downwards, along with internet, hardware and biotech shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average managed a 62.05 point gain, to reach 10,906.10, led by McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and some good quarterly earnings by American Express and Merck. The Standard & Poor’s edged down by 4.63 points to 1,429.91.
In Canada, BCE and Nortel felt the sting. BCE dropped C$5.45 to $147.65, and Nortel lost $7.15 to $143.65. JDS Uniphase slipped by another $7.50 to $119. Research in Motion edged down by $5.30 to $53.50.
On the upside, Canadian National Railways capped loses, by gaining C$2.30 to $42.85. The Royal Bank of Canada edged upwards, but other banks slipped. The Toronto Stock Exchange closed down 137.19 points to 8,822.50.
The Canadian Venture Exchange composite was hurt by another 4% drop in its tech sub-index. Unique Broadband Systems, Oriole Systems and Ecompark led the way down, deflating by more than 5% each.