Intel was trading near its 12-year low Thursday after issuing Q4 revenue warning, and the tech bellweather was leading some in the tech sector to new 52-week lows on an otherwise break-even morning on Wall Street.
After announcing a $1 billion cut to its Q4 revenue forecast last night, Intel was trading down at $13 and change, but well above its after-market lows. Ratcheting its forecasts back 14 percent to $9 billion for the final quarter of this year, the chip giant cited weak demand for its products and indicated that the economic crisis will hurt computer sales in the holiday season and beyond.
In reaction to Intel's prebriefing, Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner said that lack of credit, the strong dollar and rising unemployment would lead consumers to delay PC upgrades for 1-2 years. He concludes that that "the PC industry is feeling the full impact of global economic recession."
The pinch is being felt in the PC market today. Microsoft's stock tumbled to a 10 1/2 year low at $19.73, while Dell ($10.09) and HP ($29.38) are trading at 52-week lows today. Other tech companies from Google to eBay and Amazon are also trading at 52-week lows.
