1.   An investment downgrade of Applied Materials Inc. at Smith Barney Inc. further dampened sentiment toward technology issues, traders said.

2.   Bizarre incidents like the subway poison gas attack in March also dampened consumer sentiment.

3.   Hong Kong stocks snapped a two-day gain, as investor sentiment was dampened by declines in Tokyo and Korean stock markets.

4.   J.C. Penney and Borders Group dampened early sentiment by warning of earnings shortfalls.

5.   Others include the Kobe earthquake in January and the sarin gas attack in March, which have dampened consumer sentiment.

6.   Still, the firings may dampen consumer sentiment in Switzerland, economists said.

7.   The ending of special tax rebates in July and boosting of medical premiums in September only dampened consumer sentiment further.

8.   The news did little to dampen sentiment in Tokyo.

9.   The request is likely to anger Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has been trying to dampen independence sentiment on the island.

10.   Overnight losses on Wall Street also dampened sentiment in Hong Kong, they said.