TECH STOCKS: Getting Slammed

Our indexes fell Tuesday after the Federal Reserve held the short-term interest rate steady, at its lowest level since 1958, and signaled it wouldn't raise rates until hiring picks up.

Our InformationWeek 100 fell 2.5%, or 7.52 points, to rest at 295.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 40.53 points, or 2.1%, to 1,908.32. The S&P 500 index fell 9.12 points, or 0.9%, to close at 1,060.8.

After flirting with the 10,000 mark earlier in the day, the Dow Jones industrial average ended Tuesday down 41.85 points, or 0.4%, to close at 9,923.42. The Dow is still up more than 19% this year, its highest levels since May 2002.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock closed down 2.3%, or 81 cents, to $34.43, on heavy volume of 110 million shares.

The monetary-policy-setting Federal Reserve voted Tuesday to leave the federal funds rate at 1%, where it's been since June. The central bank also said it would keep the cost of borrowing money low for a "considerable period," until the economy lifts the jobs market. But it said the risk of deflation has diminished.