News

Kiosk stocks caught in market free fall

March 12, 2002

NEW YORK - The kiosk sector suffered along with most of the stock market on Sept. 17, with most publicly traded kiosk-related companies losing ground as the financial markets endured record losses on the first day of trading since terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11.

For the day, the New York Stock Exchange lost 684.33 points, finishing at 8,921,18, a loss of 7.1 percent for the day. The technology-driven NASDAQ index finished the day at 1,579.61, down 115.59 points (6.8 percent).

And the kiosk sector was hit just as hard as the rest of the market.

Two companies that have made news recently both suffered double-digit drops on Sept. 11. Interactive gaming kiosk designer GameCom Inc. (OTCBB:GAMZ.OB), which was forced to postpone a shareholder meeting on Sept. 14 because the New York-based company that was certifying its proxy votes was forced to shut down by the terrorist attacks, was down six cents to 19 cents, a 24 percent drop. Meanwhile, Info Touch Technologies Corp. (Vancouver:IFT.V), which announced on Sept. 14 that it had received a $500,000 cash investment from Compaq Canada Corp., was down 11.4 percent, dropping four cents to 31 cents.

Other companies that endured rough trading days include:

ATM and kiosk manufacturer NCR Corp. (NYSE:NCR), which finished the day at 34.45, a loss of two points (5.5 percent); Symbol Technologies Inc. (NYSE:SBL), which manufacturers price verification and other mobile data transaction systems, lost 1.49 (11.percent), finished the day at 12.05; and financial services kiosk manufacturer Greenland Corp. (OTCBB:GLCP.OB) fell 8.3 percent to 2.2 cents.

Go Online Networks Corp. (OTCBB:GONT), which plans to launch a line of Internet kiosks in hotels, was one of the few kiosk-related stocks that enjoyed a successful day on Wall Street, with its stock rising 9.7 percent to 4.4 cents.

Tyco International Ltd., the parent company of touchscreen manufacturer Elo TouchSystems, finished the day at 45.10, a loss of 2.61 (5.5 percent).

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]