Weighing on tech shares, meanwhile, was Apple (AAPL Quote). The maker of Macs and iPhones comfortably bested analyst estimates last quarter with a 36% jump in profit, but also guided under earnings estimates for the current quarter. Shares were off 1.9%.
Amazon.com (AMZN Quote), another tech titan, was slumping 4.1% after easing its 2008 operating-earnings forecast and reporting an essentially flat operating margin in the first quarter. Analysts were hoping for some improvement. The Internet retailer also reported better-than-expected earnings of $143 million on soaring sales of $4.13 billion. Similarly, Motorola (MOT Quote) surrendered 4% after its quarterly loss and weak second-quarter projection. Outside of tech, Starbucks (SBUX Quote) was also losing ground on its soft guidance. The coffee seller said tough economic conditions should keep its customer-traffic numbers down and force a first-quarter profit drop to 15 cents a share from 19 cents last year. That's well under the consensus estimate. Shares were plunging 11%. Scheduled to report after the market close are Dow components Microsoft (MSFT Quote) and American Express (AXP Quote). Among commodities, crude oil was losing 80 cents to $117.50 a barrel, and gold futures gave up $5.10 at $903.90 an ounce. The U.S. dollar climbed 0.9% against the euro at $1.5746 while weakening fractionally against the yen. Treasury prices were little changed recently. The 10-year note was up 1/32 in price to yield 3.73%, and the 30-year bond was flat in price, yielding 4.49%. Markets overseas were mostly in retreat. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 1.6% overnight at 25.681, but Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.3%. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 dropped 1.7%, Germany's Xetra Dax shed 0.7%, and the Paris Cac fell 1.4%.- Loading Comments...
- Loading Comments...
Featured Photo Galleries
| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,246.97 | 1,093.01 | 2,151.08 | 34.82 |
Oil *
77.27
|
|
UP
20.03
|
DOWN
0.06
|
DOWN
2.98
|
DOWN
0.04
|
10 Yr
3.48%
SPDR Gold
108.39
|
|
+0.20%
|
-0.01%
|
-0.14%
|
-0.11%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |














