Earnings Weigh On Stocks

Disappointing earnings news from Adobe , EDS , Time Warner and Procter and Gamble weighed on the stock market Wednesday.

Adobe shares sank 8.6% on the software maker’s second warning this quarter, while weak sales at AOL and the movie unit sent Time Warner shares modestly lower.

EDS shares shed 6% after the company missed earnings estimates, and Genesis Micro tumbled 19% on its results.

Microsoft, meanwhile, tumbled 3.5% to a new 52-week low, as the software giant continued to suffer from last week’s earnings disappointment.

Qualcomm was a bright spot, climbing 1.4% after the company raised guidance, and Symbol Tech , Brooks , Blue Nile , Cognizant , SPSS , Powerwave , Open Solutions and Macrovision surged on their results.

Inflation fears remained front and center after factory orders came in stronger than expected. Friday’s monthly jobs report will be watched carefully by traders for inflation signs.

The Nasdaq fell 6 to 2303, the S&P 500 shed 5 to 1308, and the Dow gave back 16 to 11,400. Volume declined to 2.4 billion shares on the NYSE, but rose to 2.2 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 18-13 on the NYSE, and by a few issues on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 63% on the NYSE, and 62% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 194-102 on the NYSE, and 190-56 on the Nasdaq.