to-1 on the NYSE and by about 19-to-12 on Nasdaq. Search engine companies Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. fell after RBC Capital Markets reduced its ratings on the companies. Google fell 2.6 percent to $188.89 and Yahoo slipped 2 percent to $31.48. Michael Bee, lead equity strategist for Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC, said, "These companies are selling at lofty valuations and from a fundamental approach seem to be overpriced and will continue to be volatile stocks." Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. fell 2 percent to $35 after it posted a huge loss on $18 billion in asset write-downs. The results before the charges exceeded Wall Street estimates but the company offered a cautious outlook. In after-hours trading, shares of MCI Inc. slid 1.5 percent to $22.85 from their $23.21 close on Nasdaq after Qwest Communications International Inc. said it offered a revised bid for MCI. Qwest fell a penny to $4.19 on the Inet electronic brokerage system. Qwest, the fourth-largest U.S. local telephone company, said it would modify its $8 billion bid to buy long-distance telephone company MCI to add protection for MCI shareholders should the price of Qwest's shares decline. --More 2343 Local Time 2043 GMT
