IBM, which slid for two days amid rumours that its results for the current quarter would prove disappointing, tumbled still further Friday to close at $168.37 a share, down $9.25, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Losses in IBM dragged heavily on the 30-component Dow Jones industrial average, pushing the index down 94.07 points to 9903.55. The decline knocked the index off its landmark 10,000 level where it opened for the first time Friday.

The sell-off also shook other major computer makers, sinking the stocks of Compaq Computer Corp, Dell Computer Corp, Gateway Inc, and related businesses like computer chip maker Intel Corp. IBM stock traded $3 to $4 lower early in the session and losses accelerated after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Thomas Kraemer cut his price target on IBM stock to $195 ashare from $210, signalling a more pessimistic view of the issue for the next year. Kraemer was unavailable to comment further.

"Today, I think the fundamentals have exerted an impact on the market in IBM's and Hewlett-Packard's case," said Marshall Acuff, US equity market strategist at Salomon Smith Barney.

In addition, Lehman Brothers analyst George Elling remarked early Friday that March quarter results at IBM, the world's largest computer maker, and No 2-ranked Hewlett-Packard Co, would "be a challenge from a revenue perspective."

"IBM appears reasonably on track for the first quarter, although there have been some rumblings that services may not be as strong as in recent quarters," he said in a note to Lehman clients, referring to IBM's computer services unit.

"After the December quarter's disappointment, computer hardware revenues are still somewhat suspect," he wrote. Hewlett-Packard stock fell $3 to $71 a share, also on the NYSE.

Last month, Compaq, the world's No 1 personal computer maker,warned of slow sales in some segments during the first six weeks of this year.

Worries are growing on Wall Street that Compaq may fail to meet the current first-quarter earnings consensus of 33 cents a share. US Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar slashed his estimate Thursday for the current quarter.

Compaq stock closed down $1.125 at $30.75, and Gateway lost $3.25 to close at $68.50, both in composite NYSE trading. Dell gave up $2 to end the day at $40.25 on Nasdaq. Sales issues appear to be spreading through the computer industry's supply chain.

Last week, Ingram Micro, the world's largest wholesaler of computer products, warned that its own earnings would fall short for the first quarter because of brutal PC price competition in the United States and cautious buying trends overseas.

SoundView Technology analyst Gary Helmig, for one, remains unconvinced that IBM's revenues will fall short of forecasts for the first quarter, but he said it was still too early to tell.

He said IBM's declineon Friday appeared closely tied to a market-wide expiration of options and futures contracts, not specific fears about IBM business fundamentals.