Tech stocks
hit Dow by 61

NEW YORK -- Technology stocks led the market lower today as a weak profit report from a leading software company fanned worries about how well U.S. companies will weather the economic turmoil in Asia.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 61.18 to 8,049.66.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by more than a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,141 up, 1,782 down and 534 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 538.43 million shares vs. 489.65 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 6.59 to 975.78, the NYSE composite index fell 2.58 to 510.86, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 30.98 to 1,620.56

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.87 to 438.16; and the American Stock Exchange composite index, which is dominated by smaller companies, fell 1.94 to 671.55.

The technology-laden Nasdaq composite index suffered the heaviest damage, falling nearly 2 percent as investors chafed at the latest profit report from Oracle, released after yesterday's close.

Oracle's stock price tumbled by nearly a third, setting a one-day volume record with more than 170 million shares traded, after the database software company reported a quarterly profit well below analyst expectations. Oracle attributed the weakness to Asia and unfavorable exchange rates, warning that those problems may continue for months.

The news weighed heavily on the technology group, whose greater reliance on Asia's economic health has worried investors.