Dell shares fall on Goldman Sachs downgrade

Dell Inc., the world's second-largest personal-computer maker, plunged as much as 16 percent on the Nasdaq after Goldman, Sachs & Co. added the company's shares to its ``conviction sell'' list.

Dell is dependent on computer hardware, which is likely to see prices and sales fall as demand shrinks, analyst David C. Bailey said today in a report.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, fell $1.54, or 15 percent, to $8.97 at 1:03 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares, down 57 percent this year before today, dropped as low as $8.85 earlier in the session.