* Tech shares tumble as investors lock in profits

* Poor bond auction fuels worry about public finances

* Banks rise after-hours after stress test results

* Dow off 1.2 pct; S&P 500 off 1.3 pct; Nasdaq off 2.4 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US] (Updates with release of bank stress test results, adds volume)

By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks slid on Thursday as investors took profits from the technology sector's recent surge, while analyst downgrades hurt telecoms and a tepid response to a government bond auction raised fears about public finances.

Bank stocks also succumbed to profit-taking, with the KBW Bank index dropping 3.5 percent, a day after leaked results from so-called stress tests suggested that most U.S. banks were healthier than previously thought.

But stock index futures rose after the official government results were released at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) as regulators told leading banks to raise $74.6 billion to build a capital cushion officials hope will restore faith in financial firms and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades. For details, see [ID:nN07333426]