To: excardog who wrote (82312 ) 12/21/2000 10:53:22 AM From: kodiak_bull Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 95453 Naz down to 2311, can a Naz 2200 be in the offing today? How about a Naz 2057.11 next Wednesday? Remember, you heard it here first. <<Before the Bell-AT&T, Lucent, Palm fall, techs seem firmer NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Lucent Technologies Inc. and AT&T Corp., two giants in the telecommunications industry, dropped in pre-open trade on Thursday, with Lucent revealing another chapter in its tale of earnings woe and AT&T slashing its dividend and warning of soft fourth-quarterrevenue growth. Telecommunications equipment maker Lucent said early Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter loss will be worse than previously expected and announced it would slash $1 billion in costs as it overhauls its business. Lucent shares fell to $13-1/2 in pre-open dealings from $15-1/2 at the Wednesday New York Stock Exchange close. AT&T late on Wednesday said it had cut its quarterly dividend to 3.75 cents per share from 22 cents and projected slower fourth-quarter revenue growth. AT&T shares traded at $17-11/16 in the pre-open, down from $18-15/16 at Wednesday's New York Stock Exchange close. Looking at the broader market, stocks were expected to begin a recovery from recent sharp declines, caused in part by the Federal Reserve's warning two days ago of a coolingeconomy. Flagging economic growth has caused many U.S. companies to tell investors they should expect less growth, news that has devastated many stocks. Shares in Palm Inc. , maker of the popular hand-held personal organizer, tumbled to $31-1/4 from a closeof $38-1/8. On Wednesday after the market closed, Palm said it doubled its sales in the fiscal second quarter, edging past Wall Street estimates but not delivering the revenue breakout someinvestors had hoped for. Intel Corp. rose to $32-3/4 from $31-15/16, while Microsoft Corp. traded in line with its Wednesdayclose of $41-1/2. . REUTERS Rtr 09:07 12-21-00