TECH STOCKS: OPEC News Sends Markets For A SpillTECH STOCKS: OPEC News Sends Markets For A Spill

The major indexes took a spill Wednesday after OPEC unexpectedly said it plans to cut back on oil production, fueling fears that higher energy costs could hamper a recovery. That news was enough to discourage investors--or at least give them enough of an excuse to start a round of selling.

Tech stocks fell pretty hard following Tuesday's rally. Intel fell 4%, or $1.16, to $27.78; Cisco Systems fell 3.9%, or 83 cents, to $20.32; Microsoft fell 3.9%, or $1.14, to $28.46; Oracle fell 3.6%, or 43 cents, to $11.60; Hewlett-Packard fell 2.2%, or 44 cents, to $19.96; and Amazon.com fell 1.7%, or 83 cents, to $49.61.

The information 100 fell 3.5%, or 10.15 points, to 279.86, and the Nasdaq index was down 3.1%, or 58.03 points, to 1,843.69. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock fell 3.4%, or $1.16, to $33.36, as 106.1 million shares changed hands.

Less-tech heavy indexes also took a hit. The Dow industrials fell 1.6%, or 150.53 points, to 9,425.51, and the S&P 500 fell 1.9%, or 19.65 points, to 1,009.38.