Technology stocks fell yesterday pushing the Nasdaq to its lowest close in nearly a month, after Cisco Systems admitted that a sagging US economy will crimp its near-term performance.

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 56.51 points to 2,607.98 while the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.70 points to end at 10,946.72.

Year to date, the Nasdaq is up 5.6 per cent and the Dow is up 1.5 per cent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 11.50 points to 1,340.76

Networking, software and semi-conductor stocks faced the most intense selling, while defensive investing helped to lift consumer and energy stocks.

Cisco, the number one maker of networking equipment, fell $4 to $31. On Tuesday Cisco announced that it had missed Wall Street's expectations for the first time in more than six years and warned a slowdown could continue for at least the next two quarters.