Despite gains by technology darlings Intel and International Business Machines, tech stocks continued to erode Wednesday.
The closely watched Nasdaq 100 index, home to many of the big-name tech stocks, closed lower for the second day in a row after the Federal Reserve’s Tuesday morning rate cut. The biggest contributors to Wednesday’s loss by the index were Apple, Google, Amazon.com and Research in Motion.
Apple closed down $16.57, or more than 10 percent, to $139.07. Late Tuesday, the company issued a forecast that disappointed analysts.
The Nasdaq 100 index has lost 20 percent since its peak on Halloween, thereby entering bear market territory.
Other stock indexes fared better in a wild day of heavy trading Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 298.98 points, or 2.5 percent, at 12,270.17. The Dow traded in a 625-point range, plunging 326 points earlier in the day.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 28.10, to 1338.60. The Nasdaq composite index gained 24.14, to 2316.41. The Russell 2000 small-company index rose 21.86, or 3.3 percent, to 693.43.
Bank stocks were the big winners, but shares of home builders closed higher for the second straight day. The S&P index of 15 major home-builder stocks jumped 14 percent.
New York Stock Exchange trading volume reached 2.82 billion shares, up from 2.58 billion shares Tuesday. Winning stocks outnumbered losers by an 8-3 ratio. Nasdaq trading volume totaled 3.59 billion shares, up from 3.11 billion, as winners beat losers by a 3-2 ratio.
Commodity prices slipped. The Dow Jones/AIG commodity index fell more than 2 percent, after a 1.5 percent drop Tuesday. Crude oil fell to a three-month low in futures trading. Oil for March delivery closed down $2.22 a barrel, at $86.99.
Gold for February delivery closed down $7.20 an ounce, at $882.50.
