The massive earthquake in Japan -- and subsequent tsunami -- turned the markets downward for most of Friday, with almost every major industry feeling an impact.
The technology sector was no exception. The tech-heavy Nasdaq took a bad hit for the week, sliding 2.4%.
Big Japanese tech firms like Panasonic(PC_) and Sony(SNE_) felt the burn in their stock prices. Sony dropped 2.36% friday to close at $33.45 after the consumer electronics company reported that its six Japanese factories located in the earthquake zone had halted operations.
Panasonic also closed down, dropping 1.77% to $12.73. According to Bloomberg, the firm was still assessing damage Friday at three of its manufacturing facilities, where several employees suffered minor injuries.
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Japan Quake May 'Wipe Out' Insurer Earnings: Analysts
Exposure to Japan's earthquake could weigh heavily on insurers' and reinsurers' first quarter earnings, say financial industry analysts.
"The events in Japan -- even though it is too early to estimate the damage - could wipe out a year of earnings," said Standard & Poor's Financial Services analyst Dennis Sugrue. " I think this already a difficult year for for insurers. These events take away [the capital] cushion and if anything else happens in the North Atlantic, such as a large hurricane, it could be worse."
Sugrue believes catastrophe damages from Japan could mirror those out of Chile last year.
"Clearly there is going to be a lot of exposure for insurance companies," said Steve Wood, Chief Market Strategist for Russell Investments.
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