World stocks: US techs fall after Dell warns of slower sales

NEW YORK - Technologies fell on Thursday, after a warning of sagging sales from personal-computer giant Dell Computer rocked the high-tech sector.

"It's another in a long line of companies that are suggesting that business could be softer," A C Moore, chief investment-strategist at Dunvegan Associates said.

"It's certainly a hardship for companies involved in PC sales," he said.

The recent barrage of warnings from such companies as Intel, had re-ignited fears that slowing economic growth and the US dollar's strength against European currencies, could hurt profits.

The computer sector's earnings' jitters bled over into blue-chips and the Dow Jones closed 59.56 points lower, at 10,724.92, largely dragged by personal-computer giant Hewlett-Packard.

A rise for drug and consumer-products' companies helped to stem the Dow's falls and to lift the broader market.

"It's mostly recognition of the potential for market rotation away from high-multiple, high-risk technologies into lower multiple, lower-risk consumer names, where the earnings are slightly more reliable," Charlie Crane, chief market-strategist at Key Asset Management said.

In London the FTSE scored a 0.74 per cent rise on Thursday, boosted by a strong performance by heavyweight mobile-phone group Vodafone when the index extended an erratic recovery from September's four-month lows.

"The Footsie was really over-sold two weeks ago and on the strength of that alone it was due for a bounce," Mike Lenhoff, a portfolio-strategist at money manager, Capel Cure Sharp said.

"But my guess is it's not going to get too far, at least in the short term."