By Rex Crum, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks slumped Wednesday as the sector appeared headed for another day of losses, due primarily to broad-market reaction to the Federal Reserve's latest take on the U.S. economy. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO 23.69, -0.62, -2.54%) was among the decliners, falling more than 3% ahead of the networking giant's quarterly earnings report, due after the market close. Read more about what's expected from Cisco. The sector suffered at the hands of the overall market, which retreated in the wake of the Fed's downgrade of its economic outlook Tuesday. Signs of a rising trade deficit and slowing economic growth in China also added to the day's negativity. Read more about the latest economic data. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP 2,226, -51.29, -2.25%) fell 54 points, or 2.4%, to 2,222, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX 332.01, -12.73, -3.69%) gave up 3.8%, and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH 544.40, -13.53, -2.43%) was off by 2.6%. Rex On Techs: How Hurd's H-P Career Could Have Survived Investors had little to complain about from former H-P CEO Mark Hurd's performance, but his failure to retain the confidence of the board was fatal. Investors found little to get excited about in tech stocks, driving down every major sector leader. Among the decliners were Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ 41.70, -0.63, -1.49%) , down almost 2%; Apple Inc. (AAPL 253.57, -5.84, -2.25%) , down more than 2%; Dell Inc. (DELL 12.12, -0.33, -2.65%) , which gave up 3.6%; Broadcom Corp. (BRCM 33.61, -2.39, -6.64%) , down more than 6%; and Seagate Technology (STX 10.85, -0.25, -2.23%) , which fell 2.7%.

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