Tech and telecom shares dived today, sending the FTSE-100 plummeting towards the 5,600 mark.
Shares were hit by further bad news overseas, including a profit warning from German chipmaker Infineon Technologies, while US telecom equipment-maker Tellab showed it was being hit by the slowdown.
The announcements sent shudders through tech shares in the UK and pushed the FTSE-100 Index down 42.5 points to 5,637.9 after an hour’s trading.
Telecom equipment maker Marconi – which has already had a bad enough week – plunged 19p to 247p, Spirent dived 7p to 183p and Energis shed 7.5p to 196p.
Among the telecoms, Cable & Wireless was down 17p at 387p, Colt Telecom fell 32p to 518p and Vodafone was down 2.5p at 158.5p. Chip designer Arm was particularly hit by the Infineon warning, and slid 8%, off 21.5p at 239.5p.
Computer services groups Logica, Dimension Data and CMG were all lower – off 34p at 818p, 10.5p at 285p and 4p at 324p respectively. Software group Misys slid 18.5p to 448.5p, while Sage fell 6p to 239.5p.
With investors pulling out of tech stocks, old economy shares such as retailers gained. On the high street, Dixons was up 8.5p at 219.5p, Boots was up 14p at 579p and Marks & Spencer rose 2p to 239p.
Away from the FTSE, Stagecoach today announced it had plunged into the red after being hit by the costs of its Coach USA business. However, shares sparked 11% ahead – up 6.5p at 70.5p.
EGi News 20/06/01
