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MARKET PREVIEW: Dell disappoints techs

2 min read

Dell became the latest company to depress the Nasdaq with a quarterly report; its dour growth projection will cast a pall over techs Friday. Asian and European markets were down, and the Dow is set to open lower.

Another warning from a leading tech company that growth isn't what it used to be will depress techs Friday. Dell reported earnings on target with Wall Street's forecasts after the bell Thursday but warned of slower sales growth in the coming year. That sent the No. 2 personal computer maker's stock down 1.94 to 26.44 in after-hours trading.

Uncertainty over the next U.S. president, as the Florida recount drags on, may also be a downer for tech stocks Friday.

U.S.

Expect the following technology stocks to be among Friday's most actively traded issues: Dell, Learning Tree, LSI Logic and NetObjects.

Tech and blue-chips stocks staged a decent rally in late trading Thursday but the uncertainty surrounding the presidential election kept stocks lower. The Dow fell 73 points to 10,834.25 while the Nasdaq slid 31 points to 3,200.35.

At the Bell

The Dow Jones industrial average may open about 67 points lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index for June futures contracts was down 8.6 to 1394 at 7:55 a.m. EST in 24-hour electronic trading.

The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index was down 14 to 413.83.

Asia

Trading in Asia was on a downswing. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.47 to 14,988.54, Singapore's Strait Times index shed 0.88 percent to 1,986.20 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.74 percent to 15,389.39.

Europe

European markets were also down. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.90 percent to 6,384.50. The CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.62 percent to 6,232.11 and the DAX in Frankfurt was down 0.24 percent to 6,942.49 at 6:57 a.m. EST.

Reuters contributed to this report.