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The yield, which is a benchmark for interest rates on many kinds of loans including home mortgages, was as low as 1.63 percent as recently as May 3. Technology shares lagged the market after business software maker Oracle reported flat revenue late Thursday, even though analysts expected an increase. Oracle plunged $3.07, or 9 percent, to $30.14, the biggest drop in the S&P 500 index. Oracle is struggling to adapt as customers shift away from software installed on their own computers toward software that runs remotely. The Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, fell 7.39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,357.25. Apple, the biggest stock in the index, fell $3.34, or 0.8 percent, to $413.50. Microsoft fell 23 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $33.27. The price of gold recovered after plunging the day before. Gold rose $5.80, or 0.5 percent, to $1,292 an ounce. Crude oil fell $1.45, or 1.5 percent, to $93.69 a barrel in New York. The dollar rose against other currencies as traders anticipated that U.S. interest rates would rise as the Fed winds down its bond purchases. Among other stocks making big moves: Darden Restaurants, which runs Olive Garden and Red Lobster, fell $1.11, or 2 percent, to $50.12 after rising expenses hurt its fourth-quarter earnings. Spreadtrum Communications jumped $3.62, or 16 percent, to $25.91 after the Chinese smartphone chip maker said its board is considering a buyout offer valued at about $1.39 billion from Tsinghua Holdings. Facebook rose 63 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $24.53 after saying it will add video to its popular photo-sharing app Instagram, following on the heels of Twitter's growing video-sharing app, Vine. A Fed policy statement and comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke started the selling in stocks, bonds and commodities Wednesday. Bernanke said the Fed expects to scale back its bond-buying program later this year and end it by mid-2014 if the economy continues to improve. The bank has been buying Treasury and mortgage bonds, which has made borrowing cheap for consumers and businesses. The program has also encouraged investors to buy stocks instead of bonds. The S&P 500 is still up 11.7 percent, for the year, not far from its full-year increase of 13.4 percent last year.
[Associated
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