Stockwatch Daily: Tech market hit in Nasdaq drop

NEWS Nasdaq closed down at two per cent overnight, paving the way for European markets this morning. On the tech-heavy Nasdaq, hardware companies yesterday took a knock with Intel falling 1.11 per cent despite announcing its new smaller and faster chip. PC makers were also hit with Compaq taking a 3.74 per cent dip, HP losing 2.59 per cent and Apple dropping off six per cent. This morning the FTSE TechMark 100 was off 0.17 per cent while in Germany the Neuer Markt was off 1.34 per cent. Leading gainers this morning included BT, up 1.47 per cent, following the announcement that it will tie-up with Deutsche Telekom on delivering 3G networks in the UKL and Germany.