Traditional bellwether aerospace stocks were well anchored Monday as the Nasdaq composite index fell to its lowest point for the year. But it was a different story for the newcomers to the industry.
"They were pretty much in line with the rest of the Nasdaq," said analyst Armand Musey of Banc of America Securities in New York.
The Nasdaq trimmed its losses in late-afternoon trading on Monday but was still deep in the red as investors dumped technology's biggest names on growing fears that high interest rates could cramp knockout revenue growth. At the closing bell, the Nasdaq was down 26.19 points to 3364.21
In early afternoon trading, the Nasdaq was down 214.32 at 3,176.08. The index hasn't traded this low since last November, when it hit an intraday low of 3,124.77.
The beating also caused a drag on the Dow. At the end of the day, the Dow closed down 84.30 points to close at 10542.55.
Aerospace industry giants held steady, faring much better than their younger counterparts who are involved in such things as building the high-speed and wireless networks of the future.
Hughes closed up $6.88 to $96.75. This was mostly the result of General Motors completing an offer to grant investors shares in Hughes in exchange for shares of GM common stock. Musey said.
General Dynamics ended down a hair, falling 63 cents to $56.19. Boeing fell slightly, down 38 cents to $36.56.
But the new economy-based aerospace stocks took a bath, falling an average of 3.5 percent.
Analysts are becoming increasingly aware of how the space industry is being redefined, cutting across a broad spectrum of sectors such as telecommunications, information technologies, electronics, aeronautics, life sciences and healthcare.
"Satellite communications companies such as Pegasus, Loral and Orbital Sciences are in the early stages of becoming service companies, making them less anchored and more volatile," Musey said.
Israeli telecommunications company Gilat fell $2.75 to $74.13. Gilat designs, develops, manufactures, markets and supports small-terminal satellite earth stations and related hub equipment and software. Its products are incorporated into telecommunications networks that provide satellite-based communications between a central location and a large number of geographically dispersed sites.
New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio fell 86 cents to $36.25. The company is building a digital satellite radio system for the broadcast of various channels of music and entertainment programming to motorists throughout the United States.
Loral Space & Communications fell 31 cents to close at $7.94. The New York-based company manufactures satellites and provides satellite-based communications services.
Globalstar continued its slide, dropping 86 cents to close at $8.94. The company builds and operates a worldwide satellite-based digital telecommunications system which offers voice telephone and other digital telecommunications services.
Reston, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences fell 44 cents to $12.19. The company designs, manufactures, operates and markets a variety of space-related products and services including launch vehicles, satellites and related systems, electronics and sensor systems, satellite-based navigation, as well as positioning and communications products and services.
Pasifik Satelit Nusantara fell $1.38 to $14.25. The Jakarta, Indonesia-based satellite company provides communications services in the Asia-Pacific region.
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based Pegasus Communications Corporation is a media company with operations in direct broadcast satellite television and broadcast television. The Company provides DirecTV to subscribers in the United States.
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