Wall Street

Photo: Gary He/Associated Press

NYTimes:

It isn't over yet. Hopes for a market rebound dimmed today as shares stayed in the red, extending yesterday’s 360-point swoon. Today, however, it was the technology giants and retail chains that disappointed investors as well as a grim fourth-quarter forecast from the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke.

The Dow Jones industrials dipped almost 200 points, or 1.5 percent, led by steep declines from Cisco Systems, I.B.M. and clothing retailers. The benchmark index is now off more than 4 percent from Tuesday’s close. The broader market also fell 1.5 percent, as measured by Standard & Poor’s.

Sinking technology stocks battered the Nasdaq composite index, which fell 3.3 percent to its lowest level since September. Cisco, the networking company, reported a 37 percent increase in earnings but did not surpass analysts’ expectations. The market’s punishment was swift: shares of Cisco dropped 8 percent, with similar losses hitting I.B.M. and Oracle.

Investors are clearly skittish about economic troubles, from a lack of confidence in the credit market to the global ramifications of a weakening dollar and rising oil prices. The concerns have sent stock markets plummeting, with large banks feeling the brunt of the damage.