Us elections sidelines the investors

SV News Service


Washington

Uncertainty over the direction of the US economy in the wake of the delayed outcome of the cliff-hanger US presidential elections sent technology stocks tumbling on Wall Street. 

The Technology-heavy NASDAQ dropped $ 140 points. The downturn is largely due to investors pulling out of stocks and waiting to re-invest until they have a clear idea who will be America's next president, a decision that may take from a few days to a month.

The outcome of the elections could hardly have been more complicated. Even if a recount of the 6 million ballots in Florida shows George W Bush to have won the state, the Democratic party will likely to have the state's election nullified for alleged voter irregularities.

And then there is the Electoral College, the 538 men and women selected by both parties who will actually vote on December 18 on who will be the next president. Of the 50 states, 25 allow their Electoral College representatives to "vote as per their conscious." 

If just three or so members decide to switch from Bush to Gore, the latter will be president. According to Dan Larson, Director (Government Relations), Texas Instruments, it will not matter much who will end up winning. Since neither candidate or party won with a strong majority, members of Congress and the new President will be forced to work together. "It's safe to say no one candidate has a strong mandate to do particular things. They're going to have to find ways of compromising with their opponents so they can achieve even a modest objective,'' he said.

For Wall Street investors, particularly those invested in volatile high-tech stocks, all this uncertainty is causing them to seek safety in

pulling back on some of their high-tech investments until the political dust settles. Especially hard hit are networking companies and their suppliers. 

Cisco dropped $ 4 to $ 54. Chipmaker Broadcom dropped another $ 22.50 to $ 154, a share after losing $ 42 on Tuesday.