Japan's Nikkei index hit a 16-year low Monday, and European markets tumbled lower. Technology stocks have already been brutally punished as a result of an unending parade of profit warnings. This is nothing new. The Nasdaq has been under this kind of pressure for some days now. It can't do this for too many more days.
Most observers remain hopeful that the stock market is nearing that elusive bottom.
As long as it doesn't drag out too long, we won't have much impact in the longer term. If we spend the rest of the year with this slow, grinding decline, we'll do a lot more damage. The company, whose stock is one of the most widely held on the Nasdaq, said after the market close Friday that signs of the U.S. economic downturn are beginning to spread into other regions around the globe. The sharp point declines today would suggest panic among investors. Volume on the Nasdaq of 2.1 billion shares and NYSE activity of 1.2 billion shares didn't come close to the exchanges' most active days.