|
Network
Stocks Battered Anew
Cisco downgrade sparks technology selloff
By
Rich Miller
CarrierHotels News Staff
Dec. 20, 2000 -- Technology shares were hit hard again
Wednesday after a Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded network equipment
giant Cisco Systems, prompting a broader selloff in shares connected
with next-generation network facilities and services.
The NASDAQ
Composite Index closed down 178.94 (7.1 percent) at 2332.77. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average fared somewhat better, taking a 2.5
percent hit, off 265.44 at 10,318.93.
Many
Internet infrastructure and colocation companies sustained losses
above and beyond the percentage drop for the broader NASDAQ average.
Among the hardest-hit companies in the facilities sector were
Internap Network Services (off $3.56 to $6.69, a 35 percent drop),
Universal Access (down $2.12 to $6.38, off 25 percent), and Equinix
(down 69 cents to $4.88, off 12.36 percent).
Even
Level 3 Communications, which has received support from several
prominent telecom/Internet stock analysts in recent weeks, took
its lumps. Shares of Level 3 fell $4.25 a share to $29, a one-day
drop of 14 percent. See our Market
Monitor for a more complete recap of share prices.
But in
most cases, telecom-related shares remained above their lows from
earlier this month, surrendering gains from a "rebound rally"
off lows recorded the week of Dec. 7.
Here's
a wrapup of pertinent market coverage from other sources:
|
