Tech Shares Slump to 2003 Levels

Analysts are cutting revenue forecasts for bellwether IT vendors as the U.S. financial sector crisis caused markets around the world to tumble again this week, pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq down to 2003 levels as shares of companies as varied as Intel and Yahoo skidded to five-year lows.

Even though the U.S. and central banks around the world started to coordinate market-stabilization tactics such as lowering lending rates, concerns about tightening credit and recession sent the Nasdaq down Thursday by 95.21 points, or 5.47 percent, to 1645.12.

It was the index's lowest point since the third quarter of 2003, right after the trough of the dot-com bust. The Dow, a more general index, plummeted more than 675 points, or 7 percent, to close at 8579.19.