By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector edged lower Thursday, weighed down by losses in shares of eBay Inc., which fell more than 4% after the Internet giant reported a drop in third-quarter earnings.
EBay (EBAY) was off 4.3% in early trading, a day after the company also issued a weaker-than-expected outlook.
Shares of EMC Corp. (EMC) also fell, down about 3%, after the storage technology company also reported lower third-quarter profit.
The twin declines helped set the broader trading tone as the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) retreated by 0.6% to 2,138.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell further, down 1%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off by 1.4%.
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) offered a ray of hope, its shares rising 1.3%, after the semiconductor equipment maker reported a higher quarterly profit.
Gains also came from major tech players including Juniper Networks (JNPR), Google Inc. (GOOG) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).
But other companies were in the red, including Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).