SAP warning hits shaky tech sector

NEWS German software firm SAP has sent shockwaves through the markets with a profit warning for its full year results, bringing to an end a three week period of recovery for the hard-hit tech sector. SAP yesterday warned it is likely to miss year-end targets after quarterly profits were at the lower end of analysts' expectations. The company also warned it may be forced to make redundancies. Until yesterday SAP had remained bullish about its prospects, but with the cracks now starting to show in Europe's largest software company, an already fragile technology sector took a battering in the wake of the profit warning. SAP lead the downward charge, its shares falling 12 per cent, with Axon, Diagonal and Xansa all following suit. The three companies rely heavily on implementing SAP software. Diagonal was worst hit, closing down 15 per cent, Axon was down five per cent and Xansa was down nine per cent.