NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Chip companies and the June payrolls report, which most analysts interpreted as evidence of a broader slowdown in the economic recovery, weighed on the technology sector Friday.
Negative news from Nortel and Apple also pressured techs.
The Nasdaq Composite index lost 8.89 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 2,066.66. The AMEX Computer Technology Index lost 1.2 percent.
Despite a report that worldwide sales of semiconductors jumped 36.9 percent to $17.32 billion in May, their highest level since December 2000, chip companies dragged down the tech sector , with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 2.1 percent.
Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) sank 2.6 percent, Texas Instruments (TXN: Research, Estimates) lost 2.2 percent and chip gear maker Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates) fell 2.6 percent.
Tech heavyweights Cisco Systems, a computer networking company, and computer maker IBM ended the day in the red, with Cisco (CSCO: Research, Estimates) down 0.7 percent and IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) down 0.5 percent.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) edged lower 0.2 percent and Motorola fell 2.3 percent.
Nortel (NT: Research, Estimates) stock plunged 5.4 percent, weighing down the New York Stock exchange, after the Wall Street Journal reported that North America's largest telecom equipment supplier manipulated its books to show a profit in 2003. While the company would not comment on the newspaper article, it did say it will try to recover bonuses paid to employees who have acted "improperly" in the company's accounting scandal.
Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) stock recovered by Friday's close, edging lower 3.8 percent. The computer maker fell Friday following Thursday night's announcement that its next iMac computer would not hit markets until September, the very end of the crucial back-to-school sales season
The nation's largest cable companies, Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. were asked by the SEC for information about how they measure subscriber numbers, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Comcast (CMCSA: Research, Estimates) shares edged higher 0.3 percent, and Cox Communications (COX: Research, Estimates) stock lost 0.6 percent.
The news is part of an inquiry that stretches across the telecommunications industry. Verizon Communications Inc. confirmed to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that it, like at least 20 other companies, had received a letter from the SEC asking how it counts subscribers, in an apparent effort to determine whether it has taken steps to bolster the appearance of growth.
Verizon (VZ: Research, Estimates), which disclosed in an SEC filing Thursday that it had overstated its long-distance phone lines by 8.5 percent in the first quarter, was little changed at the closing bell.
Computer hard disk drive maker Maxtor Corp. said Friday it is finalizing plans to cut 400-500 jobs company-wide by the end of this month, including positions in Singapore. The California-based company, which has about 13,500 staff worldwide, hopes the cuts will reduce costs by about $60 million to $80 million a year.
Maxtor (MXO: Research, Estimates) stock fell 1.7 percent. Main rival and largest U.S. manufacturer of computer hard disk drives Seagate Technology (STX: Research, Estimates) shares edged lower 0.3 percent.
-- from staff and wire reports
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