Poor technology earnings dampen market sentiment

US p/e ratios are at higher levels today than they were at the height of the technology boom, says Mike Lenhoff, chief portfolio strategist at Gerrard. According to Bloomberg data, as of 29 January, the P/E ratio of the S&P 500 index was at 55.25, compared with February 2000 when it was closer to 30 times. Lenhoff says: 'The difficulty here is not only that US earnings have been depressed ' they have been equally depressed in Europe and Japan ' but that share prices in the US have strongly outperformed. US P/Es are at their highest levels for decades.' The markets for technology...