Stock Market Crushed in Early Trading

Monday's late morning trading drove the tech-laden Nasdaq down more than 5%, below the 2,000 mark, due in large part to Cisco's massive job cuts. The Nasdaq, which had reached 5,048.62 last year before April's vicious downturn, was off another 102.98 points late this morning. The most recent index figure is also off more than 60% from the index's March 2000 high, spurred by profit warnings and signs of an inevitable economic downturn.

But the techs were not the only issues being battered. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, long considered the measure of the stock market as a whole, was down over 217 points, or roughly 2%.

Cisco dropped nearly 2 points to $18 11/16 in heavy trading and one of its primary rivals, Juniper networks, fell $5 7/16.

The end appears nowhere in sight, but like all bear markets, opportunities for bargains exist. Still, some companies are trading at many times earnings, raising questions about just how far the bear will run before an upturn begins again.