European technology stocks suffered in early trading this
morning following the announcement by Intel that it was
significantly cutting its third quarter revenue forecast, citing
low demand in Europe, possibly due to high oil prices and a weak
Euro.
The share price of the world’s largest chip maker yesterday fell
21% on Nasdaq. On Thursday, concerns over European demand had
already hit the US share prices of Dell and Compaq, each losing
about 10% in value, and Gateway, which fell by 14%. The profits
warning from Intel caused high-tech shares to fall in Europe.
In Amsterdam, the share price of Philips dropped by nearly 12%
and ASML, a Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, fell by
10%. UK chip designer Arm Holdings lost about 9% and fibre optics
company Bookham lost 8%. Other companies affected included
Infineon, Ericsson, Nokia and Vodafone.
Intel’s performance is seen as a bellwether for the high-tech
industry. When US trading begins today, it is expected that
high-tech stocks will fall further.
