Stocks End the Week on a Down Note

A three-day sell-off in blue chip stocks finally caught up with the tech sector on Friday, as the Nasdaq ended the day down 0.4%.

Still, the Nasdaq ended the week up 0.75%, vastly outperforming the Dow’s 1% loss on the week.

Microsoft was perhaps the biggest reason for the tech sector’s down day, losing 1.7% on news that the company may have to pay $1.52 billion in an MP3 patent infringement case.

BEA Systems and Tekelec lost more than 9% each after beating estimates but lowering forward guidance. SBA Communications and VA Software also lost ground on their earnings reports.

Verigy had a much better reception for its results, soaring 24% after beating estimates and raising guidance, and CommScope and Intuit rose on their results.

Western Digital and Xyratex gained on Citigroup upgrades.

The Nasdaq lost 10 to 2515, the S&P 500 fell 5 to 1451, and the Dow shed 38 to 12,647. Volume rose to 2.58 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.08 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 16-15 on the NYSE, and 17-13 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 57% on the NYSE, and 65% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 209-24 on the NYSE, and 169-36 on the Nasdaq.