• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Varian, IBM Drag Down SVI

Posted on: Saturday, 15 May 2004, 06:00 CDT

An index of Silicon Valley stocks dropped for the week, following broader U.S. stock measures, paced by Varian Medical Systems Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Bloomberg Silicon Valley Index shed 5.89, or 1.3 percent, to 432.24. Stocks that fell outnumbered those that gained 25 to

nine. The index has fallen 8.4 percent this year.

We're becoming used to companies outperforming estimates, said Michael Holland of New York-based Holland & Co. Now we're getting into the world of you better beat our expectations or we'll punish you.>

Varian Medical Systems, a Palo Alto-based maker of radiation- therapy systems that treat cancer, fell $3.28 for the week to $81.50.

Armonk, New York-based IBM, the world's largest computer maker, shed $1.78 to $86.41.

Lockheed Martin, the largest U.S. defense contractor, lost $1.14 during the past five trading days to $47.43. The company is based in Bethesda, Md.

Among the gainers for the week was Intuit Inc. The world's biggest maker of tax-preparation software, such as TurboTax, rose $1.98 to $42.49. The company is based in Mountain View.BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE

More News in this Category