Stocks sank yesterday as fears that the troubled California utilities could drag down some of the nation's biggest banks, and a new batch of negative sentiment about corporate earnings, weighed on Wall Street.

It was a depressing end to the first week of the New Year, as huge gains from Wednesday's surprise interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve eroded, and left both the Nasdaq and Dow down for the week.

Based on the latest closing numbers, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 159 points to 2,407.32, led by stalwarts like top Web gear maker, Cisco Systems , down $5-1/4, at $36-5/8. Nasdaq was off 2.5 per cent for the week.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average closed down 252 points at 10,667.30, led by financials like Citigroup, down 3.6 per cent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 34.88 points at 1,298.46. The Dow finished the week down 1.2 per cent.

The market's mood soured further yesterday after leading Wall Street analysts again cut profit estimates for a number of bellwethers including computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co.