TECH STOCKS: Al-Qaida Threat Feels Real AgainTECH STOCKS: Al-Qaida Threat Feels Real Again

A spooked Wall Street retreated Monday. The fallback was heaviest among tech shares, where it looks like buyers never had a chance. Selling of companies in the Nasdaq Composite index began at the opening bell and continued inexorably for the rest of the day.

Two factors likely caused the sell-off. First, Spanish investigators working over the weekend found a videotape of a person claiming that the terror attack in Madrid last week was the work of al-Qaida. Spanish voters, in response, turned out the government that had committed the nation to war with Iraq. Second, investors appear to be convinced that tech stocks are overvalued.

Our information 100 was hardest hit. It fell 3%, or 9.48 points, to 312.21. The Nasdaq fell 2.3%, or 45.53, to rest at 1,939.2. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, or 16.14, to 1,104.43. The Dow industrials fell 1.3%, or 137.19 points, to end the day at 10,102.89.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock lost big on huge traffic. It fell 1.8%, or 62 cents, to $34.89 on a volume of 116 million shares.

See the full listing of all the companies in the information 100 and the top 5 percentage winners and losers for the last closing at information.com/stocks.