The big technology sector on Wall Street went into a near tailspin last week in an otherwise very mixed but not conclusively bearish market, as one by one, companies reporting figures less good than expected were greeted with a near bloodbath in their shares: after Seagate on Tuesday and Silicon Graphics on Wednesday, it was the turn of Tandem Computers Inc, whose 33% decline in third quarter profit (CI No 977) caused a late opening in the shares to avert disorderly trading, followed by a $2.75 tumble to $14.625; Data General, despite a return to profit, saw its shares shed $2.125 to $20.25; IBM has lost all the gains won by the excitement over the AS/400 launch and shed another $2.25 to $121.75 on Thursday; and DEC lost $3.125 to $104.50.
