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Equities downturn

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were at session lows at midday as continued weakness in technology stock prompted investors to flee that sector.

"I think the momentum players are getting awfully nervous. Those that want short-term thrills are going after the new highs list which is the financials," said Michael Metz, market strategist at Openheimer & Co.

The Dow fell 21 points to 4573 with declining issues leading advances 12 to seven. The Nasdaq composite fell 19 points to 989.

Micron Technology headed the most actives list on the New York Stock Exchange and shed 3-5/8 to 61-1/8 and Compaq Computer, the second msot active stock, fell 1-5/8 to 44-3/4.

Shares in International Business Machines were down 2-3/8 at 99-1/4 and Motorola was down two at 68-7/8.

Applied Materials was down 5-3/4 at 100, Cisco Systems fell 2-5/8 at 60 and Intel shed 7/8 to 57-3/4.-Reuter