Blue Chips Fall; Cisco Helps Nasdaq, S&P
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U.S. blue-chip stocks fell  on  Thursday as disappointing earnings reports from companies  including Caterpillar, UPS and Amgen combined with higher oil  prices to turn investors cautious after two days of gains.
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US stocks dropped as comments from technology companies such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Intel failed to revive a rally that stalled after the Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s 500-stock index set a three-year high last week.
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The tech-driven Nasdaq Composite Index  got a 1 percent boost on Thursday on gains in the semiconductor  sector, but the blue-chip Dow ended down slightly after  Caterpillar Inc. CAT.N warned about higher steel prices and  other costs.
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Cisco Systems Inc   gave a disappointing outlook on Wednesday and warned  of a rapid slowdown in U.S. and European orders, driving its  shares down 8 percent and adding to broader fears of a U.S.  recession.
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U.S. blue chip stocks closed lower on  Thursday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as disappointing  earnings from companies such as Caterpillar Inc. CAT.N put  pressure on the Dow.
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U.S. tech stocks fell on Wednesday as Juniper Networks Inc.  and SanDisk Corp.  reported pricing pressures, while robust economic growth helped to limit losses in the broad market.
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U.S. blue-chip stocks edged higher on Monday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dipped on Monday as about $77 billion in takeover deals made investors optimistic, but a drop in oil prices hurt energy shares, including Exxon Mobil Corp.
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European equities fell as technology shares lost ground after Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) in the US warned of weak demand.
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U.S. stocks extended their losses on  Wednesday after investment bank Morgan Stanley said quarterly  profit fell, casting doubt on corporate earnings growth, while  a brokerage downgrade on Cisco Systems Inc. hurt tech stocks.
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Plus: Alcatel outlook weak...Cisco profit climbs...Time Warner lowers earnings target...Electronic Arts lowers outlook.
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A weak forecast from Cisco marked another roller-coaster week for technology companies on the stock market.The Nasdaq, home to many tech companies, suffered a gut-wrenching 3.1 percent drop Tuesday after a U.S. service sector report showed a decline in the nonmanufacturing index from December to January. Though the index recovered somewhat during the rest of the week, the Tuesday drop was yet another demonstration that IT investors are worried that a broad economic slowdown will affect technology. The decline in the nonmanufacturing sector was the first such drop since the beginning of 2003.Cisco&#39;s earnings report&#160;on Wednesday reinforced concerns that the broader economy will have an impact on IT. Cisco forecast revenue for its current fiscal quarter to increase 10 percent, compared to analyst consensus expectations of 15 percent, according to Thomson Financial. On a conference call with analysts, CEO John Chambers said the upcoming quarters will be &quot;extremely challenging.&quot;Confirming fears of market watchers, he also noted that &quot;we are seeing our U.S. and European customers becoming increasingly cautious.&quot;However, sales for the fiscal quarter ending Jan. 26 were up by 16.5 percent to $9.8 billion. The company has been saying for some time that it will sustain double-digit growth through the rest of the decade by incorporating data, voice, video, and mobile capabilities -- its &quot;quadruple play&quot; -- across product lines.Despite the muted forecast, market watchers still have faith in the company. Company shares rose slightly the day after the report, closing at $23.38, up by $0.30.The &quot;quadruple play&quot; pitch still resonates with analysts, and several company watchers noted that Cisco shares have declined along with the wider market over the last few months, giving it a good valuation for long-term investors. Pacific Crest analyst Tim Daubenspeck upgraded the stock to &quot;Outperform&quot; from &quot;Sector Perform.&quot;&quot;Ultimately, we believe that many of the drivers are firmly in place for Cisco to achieve its long-term growth forecast of 12 percent to 17 percent,&quot; he said in a research note.Chambers&#39; cautious forecast, however, could have a bad effect on its suppliers and customers, including electronics manufacturing services and telecom companies. On Thursday, Qwest Communications dropped $0.29 to close at $5.27, Sprint Nextel declined by $0.6 to close at $9.56, and Nortel Networks dropped $0.55 to $10.99.In other telecom-sector news,&#160;Alcatel-Lucent&#160;on Friday said revenue for its fourth quarter increased 18 percent to $7.61 billion. The company, however, suffered a net loss of $3.76 billion, mainly because of a writedown related to the shrinking value of assets from Lucent. Company shares declined by $0.29 to $5.96 in midafternoon trading.Citigroup Global Equity Research said that the Cisco forecast does not bode well for electronics manufacturing suppliers. &quot;Simply put, this is not good news for EMS [electronics manufacturing services] companies,&quot; wrote Citigroup&#39;s Jim Suva in a research note.Such companies include Jabil Circuit, Celestica, and Smart Modular Technologies, he noted.In other technology sectors, Time Warner&#39;s plans to&#160;split up the Internet access and audience businesses of its AOL unit, reiterated by CEO Jeff Bewkes Wednesday, gave a temporary boost to Time Warner shares. Time Warner wants to grow AOL&#39;s ad-supported audience business, including online services and content.The company had said before that it would at some point run the two businesses as separate entities, to better focus on the advertising business. Nevertheless, company shares rose $0.31 Wednesday to close at $15.71.But the company has an uphill battle. In the fourth quarter, AOL&#39;s ad revenue increased 18 percent, less than the 25 percent industry average. And it faces not only Google, but a potentially strengthened Microsoft, if its&#160;bid to buy Yahoo&#160;succeeds.
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U.S. blue chips were near unchanged on  Thursday but technology stocks slipped, as a broker downgrade  on the semiconductor industry rattled investors, while  coffee-shop chain Starbucks disappointed with slowing growth.
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U.S. stocks tumbled on Wednesday, led  by a slide in tech shares after a disappointing report from  bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO.O triggered investor  concerns about industry demand.
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Stocks turned lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq losing 1 percent, on a handful of disappointing earnings reports, including results from cable TV operator Comcast Corp .
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U.S. blue-chip stocks fell on  Wednesday after Honeywell International Inc. HON.N and J.P.  Morgan Chase & Co. JPM.N disappointed investors with  quarterly reports, and high oil prices rekindled worries about  the impact on profit margins.
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Shares of networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. led an overall decline in the tech sector in Wednesday trading after an analyst downgraded the stock and highlighted warning signs for slowing sales in the coming months.
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U.S. shares were expected to start slightly weaker on Tuesday on caution ahead of results from networking gear maker Cisco Systems  which will set the direction for technology stocks.