MARKET CLOSE: Techs end lousy week with a stinker

Technology stocks were bludgeoned again Friday amid actual and rumored layoffs at some of the sector's biggest companies. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 91 points to finish at 2,470.97.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 100 points to finish at 10,780.80.

For the week, the Dow lost 83 points while the Nasdaq shaved off 190 points.

"It just seems like there hasn't been any good news for a while in technology, and these are the latest examples," said Charles Pradilla, chief investment strategist at SG Cowen Securities. "The earnings news and the announcements we've heard in this sector have been overwhelmingly negative. There really isn't a reason for these stocks to move higher right now."

Unfortunately, there have been plenty of reasons for investors to unload bellwether shares.

Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU) lost $1.53 to $15.36 on news of an SEC probe into its accounting practices.

Fellow network-equipment makers didn't fare much better as Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropped $1.81 to $28.19 and Nortel Networks (NT) fell $2.20 to $30.50.

Yahoo (YHOO), which is rumored to be on the verge of announcing layoffs, shaved off $2.25 to $27.94. Amazon.com (AMZN) slid $1 to $13.38 while eBay (EBAY) and America Online-Time Warner (AOL) closed off $2.56 and $1.51 a share, respectively.

Motorola (MOT), which announced it would lay off 4,000 employees, sawed off 92 cents to finish at $18.90.

Intel (INTC) dropped $1.19 to $33.44. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) bucked the trend, closing up 36 cents to $24.36, while IBM (IBM) closed down $1.71 to $112.39.

EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK), up 34 cents to $9.25, and Sprint (NYSE: FON), off 83 cents to $23.82, reworked the terms of their 1998 alliance Friday so that both parties are open to third-party agreements.

Investors applauded Register.com's (Nasdaq: RCOM) surprise profit Friday, but one analyst cautioned that the company's fundamentals need some work. Register.com shares finished up 94 cents to $7.75.

Microsoft (MSFT) slipped $3.13 to $59.13 while Oracle (ORCL) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW) closed off $3.56 and $1.31 a share, respectively.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell (DELL) shed $2.63 to $23.44; Compaq (CPQ) chopped off 90 cents to $22.50; Gateway (GTW) lost $1.29 to $18.75 and Apple Computer (AAPL) closed off $1.63 to $19.13.

Credence Systems (Nasdaq: CMOS) said that it will slash its work force by 14 percent, among other cost-cutting measures, in the face of a revenue slowdown. Its shares closed off 25 cents to $21.25.

Shares of Audible (ADBL) gained 91 cents to $1.78 after Microsoft increased its investment in the company by $10 million.