Technology Stocks Take A Beating Today

Technology stocks had a bumpy ride on the Wall Street today, as the sector struggled to avert losses after it closed in the red yesterday. By 1:10 pm, Apple Inc AAPL had slipped 0.73% to $249.12. Yesterday, Apple introduced its smartphone’s latest version, iPhone 4. The devise will start selling in the US on June 24. Other tech decliners include Microsoft Corp MSFT, which fell 2.14%, Dell Inc DELL, which dropped 1.04%, Google Inc GOOG, which declined 0.75% and Cisco Systems Inc CSCO, which slipped 0.78%, by 1:19 pm today. The sector’s losses were partly due to losses in the broad-market, as gold prices rolled high and market was inundated with rumors of a double-dip recession. Extending yesterday’s losses, the Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 23.72 points, or 1.09%, by 1:33 pm. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) dropped 1.7% and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index slipped almost 1%. Chip maker Texas Instruments Inc TXN, whose mid-quarter update is due after the bell today, lost 0.89% to $23.46. Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO shed 3.01% to $10.32, ahead of the video-game publisher’s quarterly results, due after the market close. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.