By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)--Technology stocks took a dive Thursday, as shares of Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Google fell sharply in a broad market selloff.

Facebook (FB) tumbled 5.2% to close at $59.16, while Google's Class A stock (GOOGL) dropped 3.6% to close at $546.69, and the company's Class stock (GOOG) was down 4.1% to close at $540.95.

Apple shares (AAPL) fell 1.3% to close at $523.48.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) dropped by 129 points, or 3.1%, to close at 4,054. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was off 2.8%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down 3.2%.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell 2.7% to close at $39.36, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) gave up 2% to close at $22.65, joining the top decliners on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), which was down 266 points.

BlackBerry (RIMM) shares declined by 3.6% to close at $7.67 after Chief Executive John Chen sought to clarify the beleaguered company's plan for its struggling handset business.

Chen told Fox Business Network, "I don't have any plans to jettison the handset business. We love the handset business." The statement followed a Reuters report in which Chen was quoted as saying, "If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business."

Also in the red were shares of eBay Inc. (EBAY), which were off 3.2% to close at $54.08. EBay said Thursday that it has reached a settlement with billionaire Carl Icahn, who has agreed to withdraw his proposal to spin off PayPal.

On the upside, shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) were up 0.2% to close at $32.80. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of H-P with a buy rating, saying, the company is "midway through a five-year turnaround, and thus far has done a good job of stabilizing the business."

Shares of IBM Corp (IBM) slipped 0.5% to close at $195.68. The company announced Thursday that it has acquired Silverpop, a cloud-based marketing services company based in Atlanta, Ga.

More news from MarketWatch:

EBay and Icahn agree to end proxy contest

Greenpeace says Twitter, Amazon among 'dirtiest' in Internet energy use

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Apple Charts.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Apple Charts.