Apple, Google and Microsoft Stocks Plummet

Mixed into the media frenzy whipped up by the rejection of the $700 billion bailout is news that paints a dreary picture for the tech industry : By close of business on Monday Apple stocks had fallen 18 percent, Google stocks dipped to below $400 for the first time in two years, dropping 11.6 percent and Microsoft shares fell 8.7 percent.

The news comes in the week following Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer’s reassurance that despite the global economical turmoil in recent months, the tech industry is doing just fine. Last week Ballmer spoke before a group of Silicon Valley civic leaders and said that despite the threat of a recession in the U.S. he still sees a positive resilience among technology and telecommunications customers worldwide.

While Ballmer says that he was aware the industry wasn’t immune to the effects of the global economy, he still thought people were pretty positive,"At least, for now, people are feeling, I won’t say optimistic, but better than you would be feeling if you are watching CNBC all day," he stated in the meeting. Well, following a report on Mercury News, we definitely know that’s true.

Yesterday saw the aforementioned Apple, Google and Microsoft shares fall significantly but the companies were not alone. Intel, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo ! each declined more than 10 percent while Dell’s shares fell 9.4 percent, Oracle’s by 9 percent and HP dropped 6.8 percent. No wonder Ballmer said people who weren’t watching CNBC feel better about things.

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