Rocky stock markets shake tech stocks

It's another day of insanity on Wall Street, as fear grips investors. The Dow dropped by more than 500 points in early trading. Tech stocks couldn't escape gravity's pull downward.

These cycles of mayhem are becoming all too familiar as the market takes on greater cycles of increasing manic activity, with the Dow way up one day and down the next. Suddenly I feel good for not being an investor.

But for those who are, tech stocks on Nasdaq took yet another beating today -- that after seeing a recovery following last week's meltdown.

Here's how some prominent tech companies are fairing:

Apple. Down 3 percent to 4 percent. Apple opened at $370.70, off Wednesday's close of $380.44. Late-morning trading: $368.76. Market cap: $341.87 billion.

Cisco. Down 4 percent to 5 percent. Cisco opened at $15.39, off Wednesday's close of $15.85. Mid-day trading: $15.17. Market cap: $83.11 billion.

Dell. Down 4 percent to 5 percent. Dell opened at $13.86, off Wednessday's close of $14.20. Mid-day trading: $13.62. Market cap: $25.7 billion.

Google. Down 4 percent to 5 percent. Google opened at $524 off Wednessday's close of $533.15. Mid-day trading: $512.50. Market cap: $165.48 billion.

HP. Down 5 percent to 6 percent (later spiked to over 3 percent, then fell again). HP opened at $29.86, off Wednessday's close of $31.29. Mid-day trading: $29.72. Market cap: $61.27 billion.

IBM. Down 4 percent to 5 percent. IBM opened at $166.32, off Wednesday's close of $171.48. Mid-day trading: $162.95. Market cap: $194.61 billion.

Intel. Down 3 percent to 4 percent. Intel opened at $20.14, off Wednesday's close of $20.67. Mid-day trading: $19.92. Market cap: $104.59 billion.

Microsoft. Down 1 to 2 percent. Microsoft opened at $24.56, off Wednesday's close of $25.25. Mid-day trading: $24.94. Market cap: $208.95 billion.

Oracle. Down 8 percent to 9 percent. Oracle opened at $26.46, off Wednesday's close of $27.47. Mid-day trading: $25.24. Market cap: $127.85 billion.

Yahoo. Down 3 percent to 4 percent. Yahoo opened at $13.01 off Wednesday's close of $13.47. Mid-day trading: $13.01. Market cap: $16.42 billion.