DISAPPOINTMENT that the rise in quarterly income reported by
Cisco SystemsCisco, the world's largest maker of equipment that directs internet traffic, said quarterly net income rose 27%, but in a break with tradition, its results did not beat estimates.
The Dow Jones industrial average eased 12 points, or 0.14% at 9,025 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 22 points, or 1.37% at 1,650.
On Tuesday, a tepid response to the US government's auction of Treasury notes spurred a steep sell-off on Wall Street. Investors fear that rising bond yields could choke economic growth by hiking borrowing costs, which in turn could hamper the hoped-for economic recovery.
Cisco tumbled $1.28, or 6.8% to $17.58 and ranked as the most actively traded share on the Nasdaq. Rival Juniper Networks sank 41 cents, or 3% to $13.17, and competitor Foundry Networks skidded 80 cents, or 4.8% to $16.03.
However, financial stocks offered some support to the market. Lehman Brothers jumped $1.67, or 2.8% to $62.47. Merrill Lynch raised its rating on Lehman to buy from neutral, saying that the recent sell-off in the shares on 'bond market concerns stemming from the sharp rise in the long bond has been overdone'.
UnumProvident, the leading disability insurer, jumped $1.22, or 9.6% to $13.93. The company said its second-quarter net profit rose slightly, helped by reduced investment losses.