Stocks Finish Lower as Google, Tech Weigh

U.S. stocks finished lower for the first session this week on Thursday after Google Inc.’s (GOOG) profit miss highlighted trouble in the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.06 points, or 0.06%, to 13,548.94. The S&P 500 index retreated 3.57 points, or 0.24%, to 1,457.34. The Nasdaq Composite shed 31.25 points, or 1.01%, to 3,072.87. Google shares lost 8%, its worst single-day hit since January.

Google reported a third-quarter profit of $2.18 billion, or $6.53 a share, compared with a profit of $2.73 billion, or $8.33 a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue, minus traffic acquisition costs, was $11.33 billion, up from $7.51 billion in the year-earlier period. Adjusted profit was $9.03 a share. Analysts were expecting an adjusted profit of $10.63 a share, on revenue of $11.39 billion.

Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) on Thursday reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $4.47 billion, or 53 cents a share, on revenue of $16 billion. During the same period a year ago, Microsoft earned $5.74 billion, or 68 cents a share, on $17.37 billion.

SanDisk Corp.’s (SNDK) third-quarter profit fell 67% as the flash memory maker’s sales and margins weakened, continuing a recent slide. For the latest quarter, the company reported a profit of $76.5 million, or 31 cents a share, down from $233.3 million, or 96 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue declined 10% to $1.27 billion.