Borders shares fall sharply on e-reader fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Borders Group Inc BGP.N shares fell sharply on continued fears that the U.S. bookseller was missing out on the burgeoning electronic-reader market during the crucial holiday shopping season.

Border's stock fell as low as $1.08, before closing down 13 cents, or 10.1 percent, at $1.16 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Monday its Kindle electronic reader had a record sales month in November, putting pressure on bricks-and-mortar bookseller Borders, which does not have its own e-reader, and its rival, Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N).

"As investors gain confidence in Amazon's Kindle product, they are selling Borders shares and buying Amazon stock," said William Lefkowitz, options strategist at brokerage firm vFinance Investments in New York.

On Sunday, Barnes & Noble said it would delay shipments of its Nook e-readers. In November, the company had said it had sold out of the Nook due to high demand.

Experts have predicted that e-readers will be a hot gift item this holiday season.

Borders, which posted a quarterly loss that was larger than what Wall Street had expected, said last week that it would announce its e-reader plans in the next few weeks.

On Wednesday, a Borders spokeswoman declined to comment on the movement of the company's stock.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York and Doris Frankel in Chicago; Editing by Richard Chang)