Stocks gave back more ground yesterday as pessimism about growth at technology companies had investors questioning equity valuations, with tech giant Motorola inspiring the latest sell-off.

Motorola announced that its fourth-quarter and year 2001 sales and earnings would miss forecasts because of shortfalls in its semiconductor and personal communications segments.

The warning followed a similar confession from Apple that weighed on Wednesday's market, and made the euphoria of Tuesday's record Nasdaq rise of nearly 10.5 per cent short-lived. The spike was fuelled by speculation that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan may lower interest rates.