The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday amid a steep drop by shares of Microsoft (MSFT), with the software giant plummeting by 10.0 percent to its lowest closing level in nine months. Microsoft came under pressure after the company reported slowing cloud computing growth in its fiscal second quarter and provided disappointing third quarter operating margin guidance. Traders remained cautious as a report released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit surged by much more than expected in the month of November. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $56.8 billion in November from a revised $29.2 billion in October. However, traders took some support with report showing that after reporting a notable decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the previous month, factory orders rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of November. The Commerce Department said factory orders surged by 2.7 percent in November after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in October.
On the sectorial front, despite the recovery by the broader markets, software stocks continued to see substantial weakness, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index plunging by 7.7 percent to a nine-month closing low.
Nasdaq decreased 172.32 points or 0.72 percent to 23,685.12 and S&P 500 fell 9.02 points or 0.13 percent to 6,969.01, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.96 points or 0.11 percent to 49,071.56.
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