O the world's largest chip maker ell 6

The S&P inancial index .GSP ell almost 17 percent to 108.33, itslowest le el in 14 years. Underscoring the widespead selling, the Chicago BoardOptions Exchange olatility index . IX, which is WallStreet's a orite barometer o ear, shot up 22.9 percent, itslargest percentage gain since Oct 22, when it rose more than31 percent Although the S&P 500 has rebounded rom its No . Technology shares were pulled down by expectations o poorquarterly results rom big-cap tech companies, includingInternational Business Machines Corp (IBM.N). Big-cap tech companies also got hurt by a rise in thedollar, which makes it di icult or o erseas consumers to buytheir products, said Robert rancello, head o equity trading or Apex Capital hedge und in San rancisco. In a ter-hours trading, IBM's stock jumped almost 5percent to $85.98 a ter its ourth-quarter pro it beat WallStreet's expectations. During the regular session, though, shares o Apple(AAPL.O) slid 5 percent to $78.20, and Microso t (MS T.O) shed6.2 percent to $18.48, in Nasdaq tradsing; both are alsoexpected to post quarterly results later this week.

Shares o Intel (INTC.O), the world's largest chip maker, ell 6.4 percent to $12.86 on Nasdaq a ter the company cutthe price o some processors by as much as 48 percent.ID:nBNG358126. Trading olume was acti e on the New York Stock Exchange,with about 1.72 billion shares changing hands, abo e lastyear's estimated daily a erage o roughly 1.49 billion, whileon Nasdaq, about 2.02 billion shares traded, below last year'sdaily a erage o 2.28 billion. Declining stocks outnumbered ad ancing ones on the NYSE byalmost nine to one, while on the Nasdaq, about six stocks ell or e ery one that rose. (Editing by Jan Paschal) Stocks Bonds Global Markets unds News ET s News. GAZA (Reuters) - U.N.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, oicing shock and anger at the "heartbreaking" de astation, isited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pledge aid or Palestinians a ter Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and made thousands homeless WorldIsrael had withdrawn most o its orce be ore U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated Israeli leaders seemed eager not to cloud the start o a new era in a key alliance Obama's predecessor George W. Bush endorsed Israel's right to de end itsel against rocket ire by Gaza's ruling Islamists.Since a cease ire, though nothing like a peace accord, took hold on Sunday, Hamas has demonstrated it remains in charge in the coastal encla e It held " ictory" rallies to coincide with Ban's isit. Some speakers urged him and Western powers to end their boycott o Hamas, which won the last Palestinian election."I ha e seen only a raction o the destruction. warehouse set ablaze by Israeli gun ire last Thursday.Ban called the attack "outrageous" and demanded an inquiry and, i need be, the guilty to be held to account.Israel blames Hamas or ighting around ci ilians and sites run by the United Nations, which pro ides support or much o the 1.5 million population. Most are rom amilies o re ugees who led or were orced rom homes in what became Israel in 1948.Ban, on a Middle East tour, was the most senior diplomatic igure to isit the territory in years, certainly since Hamas routed secular atah orces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized control o Gaza in June 2007.Later, isiting a southern Israeli town that or years was a target or militants in Gaza, he called the Palestinian rocket ire at the Jewish state "appalling."BAN CALLS OR PALESTINIAN UNITYAlthough aid agencies said they planned a massi e in low o supplies to Gaza's people through Israeli crossings, help will be complicated by the Western boycott o Hamas as a "terrorist" organization and an Israeli blockade on many items, including building materials, that can be used to make weapons.So Ban urged the Palestinians to patch up their political di erences within Abbas's Palestinian Authority in order to realize their hopes o statehood and make peace with Israel."I appeal to atah, Hamas, to all Palestinian actions, to reunite within the ramework o the legitimate Palestinian Authority," Ban said, urging an end to a schism between Hamas in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank that has paralyzed peace talks.Thousands o Hamas supporters, many wa ing green Islamist banners, marched through Gaza and held a rally outside the compound during Ban's isit Speakers demanded U.N. recognition."The Hamas go ernment was elected by popular ote," one said.

"We demand an end to double standards."The United Nations, with other key mediators in the Middle East, say they will only deal with Hamas i it recognizes Israel, renounces iolence and accepts interim peace deals.Israeli leaders hope the de astation wrought on Gaza will undermine Hamas's popularity. There is some sign o impatience.Watching the rally outside buildings marked by the latest war, Wael Eid said: "Hamas o erestimated its own strength ... Analysts saw the withdrawal as an e ort to a oid any tension with the new president.Many Palestinians returned to the rubble o what used to be their homes in Gaza city suburbs that were hard hit during the ighting. "This was my house," he shrugged, beside a pile o smashed concrete.Two children were killed by bombs le t behind in Gaza, Hamas o icials said. There were scattered and contradictory reports o occasional iring but no clear breach o the cease ire.Ban, who met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be ore tra eling to Gaza, later isited southern Israel, an area hit by Palestinian rocket ire or years.