US stocks fell as a US$19.2 billion loss at Nortel Networks Corp discouraged investors who had been expecting signs the slump in profits was drawing to a close.
The NASDAQ Composite Index fell for a sixth day, posting its biggest weekly loss in six months, after JDS Uniphase Corp lowered its forecast for sales this quarter, dragging down shares of other makers of fiber-optic network equipment.
"People are losing patience" with disappointing earnings, said Mark Bronzo, who helps manage US$5 billion at Groupama Asset Management in New York. "They keep expecting a recovery but they aren't seeing it."
The NASDAQ fell 15.64, or 0.8 percent, to 2,028.43, paring a 2.5 percent drop. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.51, or 0.5 percent, to 12,14.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.49, or 0.6 percent to 10,623.64.
Concern that profits won't rebound later this year sent the NASDAQ down 8.4 percent this week, the biggest loss since Dec. 15.
The S&P 500 fell 4 percent for the week while the Dow lost 3.2 percent.
Eight stocks fell for every seven that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
Nortel fell US$0.74, or 6.9 percent, to US$9.86. The company said it's taking a US$12.3 billion charge to write off the value of some acquisitions and it sees no ``meaningful growth'' in customer spending on new phone equipment until the second half of 2002.
JDS Uniphase dropped US$1.37 to US$12.44. The No. 1 maker of fiber-optic equipment parts cited slowing demand for telecommunications gear. Its shares have dropped 70 percent this year.
"The optical market's looking even worse than we expected," said Paul Kleiser, who helps manage US$4 billion in the Henderson Global Technology Fund, the largest UK technology mutual fund.
* The NASDAQ fell 15.64, or 0.8 percent, to 2,028.43, paring a 2.5 percent drop.
* The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.51, or 0.5 percent, to 12,14.36.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.49, or 0.6 percent to 10,623.64.
Ciena, the second-largest maker of US fiber-optic equipment, fell US$4.53 to US$40.14, while Corning, the biggest maker of fiber and cable used in optical networks, shed US$1.50 to US$14.50.
Among other fiber-optic and networking-equipment stocks, ONI Systems Corp shed US$2.04 to US$24.65 and Applied Micro Circuits Corp retreated US$1.17 to US$15.42.
The slowdown in phone-equipment spending also hurt Andrew Corp, which fell US$1.15 to US$16.50. The maker of wireless-communications systems cut its earnings and revenue forecasts for this quarter.
Cisco Systems Inc, the biggest network-equipment maker, fell US$1.09 to US$16.65 and was the most active stock. Only two of the 10 most active stocks climbed: Oracle Corp, which reports earnings after the market closes Monday, rose US$0.15 to US$15, and Intel Corp gained US$0.07 to US$27.68.
International Rectifier Corp plunged US$18.05, or 33 percent, to US$37.20 after the maker of computer chips for power supplies said sales this quarter won't meet expectations because of reduced demand from makers of communication equipment.
Microsoft Corp fell US$0.88 to US$68.02 and was the sixth most-active stock amid speculation the biggest software company will say earnings won't meet expectations. Microsoft spokesman James Blamey declined to comment.
Stocks pared their losses after a report from the University of Michigan showed consumer confidence fell less than forecast.
"The consumer confidence level was decent and it triggered a little rally," said Jay Finkel, a trader at Lord, Abbett & Co.
Almost 1.6 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, up 31 percent from the daily average of the past three months. The quarterly expiration of options on stocks and stock indexes and futures on indexes, known as ``triple witching,'' generated more trading than usual.
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