U.S. stocks slipped, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from a 13-month high, as technology companies slid after profit forecasts at Autodesk Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. trailed some analyst estimates.
Autodesk, the biggest maker of engineering-design software, slid 10 percent after saying job losses in core markets are making the company’s recovery “challenging.” Salesforce.com, the largest seller of Web-based customer-management software, tumbled 3.1 percent. The market’s decline was limited as Bank of America Corp. rallied after John Paulson’s hedge fund said the shares may almost double, while takeover speculation lifted Colgate-Palmolive Co. and E*Trade Financial Corp.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 1,109.8 at 4:04 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 11.11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,426.31. About three stocks dropped for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Bloomberg.com)