October 10, 2014: Markets opened lower on Friday after a day of serious blood-letting on Thursday. Tech stocks, led by chip maker Microchip Technology, traded down about 2% today and prevented the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite from even nudging above the break-even line. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded down 0.39% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.86%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 2.03%.

The Dow 30 stock posting the largest daily loss ahead of the close today was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded down 4.58% at $32.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $22.82 to $35.56. The chip maker was hit especially hard by the comment from Microchip Technology’s CEO that a correction was due across the entire chip industry in the near future. Intel’s volume was more than double the daily average of around 31 million shares.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down 3.61% at $44.20 in a 52-week range of $33.57 to $47.57. Volume was about 20% above the daily average of around 33.6 million shares. If chip stocks are tanking, then it follows that fewer computers will be sold and demand for Microsoft’s products will decline. There was no specific news on Microsoft today, other than CEO Nardella’s tone-deaf comment on women’s pay.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down 3.22% at $23.42. The stock’s 52-week range is $20.22 to $26.08. Trading volume was about 50% above the daily average of around 26 million shares. Cisco is another casualty of the hit to tech stocks today. There was no specific news on the company.

3M Company (NYSE: MMM) traded lower by 3.12% at $134.25. The stock’s 52-week range is $118.39 to $147.87. Volume was 2.5-times above the daily average of around 2.3 million shares. The company had no specific news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 17 stocks are set to close lower today, and 13 are on track to close higher.

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