Orange County stocks plummeted Monday as part of a dramatic Wall Street drop after the House’s rejection of the government bailout plan.
All but a handful of local stocks closed down as the Dow Jones Industrial average fell nearly 778 points, or 7%, its biggest percentage drop since 1997 and largest point drop ever.
Stocks plunged before and after the House of Representatives rejected the bailout plan.
Technology stocks were among the hardest hit: Lake Forest disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. was off 12%; Newport Beach chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. was off 12%; and Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp. was down 10%.
Even healthcare stocks, usually a safe haven during downturns, were hit.
Santa Ana eye products maker Advanced Medical Optics Inc. was down 9%; Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. was down 7.5%; and Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. was off 2%.
Surprisingly, beaten down mortgage-related stocks that stood to benefit from the bailout plan closed up.
Irvine-based Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. was up 17%. Newport Beach-based Downey Financial Corp. was up 2%, before turning negative in afterhours trading.
