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To: goldsnow who wrote (27935)	2/9/1999 7:12:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116830

Business: The Economy Nasdaq nosedives US investors rushed to sell Internet stocks Internet and high-technology and stocks have suffered one of their worst ever falls. Concerns that Internet stocks have risen too high, after soaring to breathtaking peaks, sent shares spiralling downwards on Tuesday. The Nasdaq technology index ended down almost 4%, the third largest fall in its history. Leading Internet stocks were hit hard, with billions of dollars wiped off their market values. More than $1.4bn was wiped off the value of search engine Lycos after investors, disappointed by a merger with cable shopping group USA Networks, sold up. Shares in rival search engines Yahoo! and Infoseek also lost more than a tenth of their value amid fears that they could lose ground to Lycos. Other major casualties included Internet auction group eBay, online share trader Ameritrade. Tens of billions of pounds was wiped off the value of computer groups such as Microsoft, Dell Computer, Intel and Cisco. Leading share experts also sent the main US stock market into a spin after they warned that the Wall Street bubble could be about to burst. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of leading US companies fell almost 2%, or 158 points, to 9,133, below the level at which is started the year. Heading for a fall A growing number of analysts have forecast that Internet stocks were heading for a fall. Many online companies are now valued at much higher levels than some of Wall Street's leading companies, despite the fact that they have yet to make a profit. Technology stock prices were going through "a very natural correction" after huge rises in recent months, said Ciaran O'Kelly, a technology-stock trader at Salomon Smith Barney. In recent weeks Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the head of Microsoft Bill Gates have warned that Internet shares had risen too high, too soon. Respected Wall Street watchers including Prudential Securities' Ralph Acampora, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's Peter Canelo and Merrill Lynch's Richard McCabe also warned that US shares could be heading downwards in the short term. Fresh merger activity in the Internet market failed to stem the decline in hi-technology stocks. Analysts also fear that the US Federal Reserve could be forced to raise interest rates soon to curb the country's domestic spending spree. A rise in the cost of borrowing would hit company profits and lead to a slowdown in demand for goods and services. European shares hit Falls in US shares sent shockwaves reverberating around the world's financial markets. European shares ended sharply lower. In London billions of pounds were wiped off leading shares as the FTSE 100 index closed down 55 points, or almost 1%, at 5834.5. The French and German stock markets tumbled even further, ending down almost 3% and 5% respectively.