Friday's midday trade: Nasdaq, S&P fall; Dow flat

19 Jul, 2008

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 stock indexes fell on Friday after disappointing results from Google Inc and Microsoft Corp drove a technology sell-off. Financial stocks continued to rebound, however, after No 1 US bank Citigroup reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, giving the sector a lift for the third straight session and helping limit losses in the Dow.
Microsoft shares fell more than 7 percent, and the software maker was a top drag on both the Dow and the S&P 500, while shares of Google slid more than 9 percent, making it the top drag on the Nasdaq.
Bucking the tech earnings trend, computer services company IBM reported a 22 percent rise in profit, lifting its shares 2 percent and helping prevent the Dow falling further. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 11.07 points, or 0.10 percent, to 11,435.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.91 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,254.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 38.29 points, or 1.66 percent, to 2,274.01.

Read Comments