The key indexes all posted another losing week as investors sold stocks, with tech issues among those taking the brunt of the selloff--the Nasdaq composite index fell to its lowest point this year. The drop was triggered by lower-than-expected earnings from Microsoft--a rare miss that upset investors--and reduced prospects for the current quarter. Wall Street also saw Amazon.com's lower-than-expected revenue and profit numbers as a potential sign that consumer spending is slowing.
The Dow industrials fell 88.11, or 0.9%, to end at 9,962.22. It's the first time the Dow closed below 10,000 since May 24. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.64, or 1%, at 1,086.20, just 2 points shy of low for the year. The Nasdaq composite fell 39.97, or 2.1%, to 1,849.09, its lowest closing level in 2004. The Nasdaq is now 7.7% lower for the year. The InformationWeek 100 fell 6.68, or 2.3%, to 279.60.
For the week, the Dow and Nasdaq both fell 1.8%, while the S&P 500 was down 1.4% and the InformationWeek 100 fell 1.6%.
Just three days after announcing a $75 billion dividend and stock buyback plan, Microsoft slumped 97 cents to $28.03 in its first trading session after earnings were announced. Amazon.com plunged $5.84, or 13%, to $39.98 on its disappointing report. One bright spot was Xerox; the printer and copier maker's recovery continued as its second-quarter numbers beat analysts' estimates by 4 cents per share. Xerox rose 49 cents at $13.80.