Technology stocks drag markets lower

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) U.S. stocks fell Thursday, with technology stocks weighing on the broader market following lackluster earnings from Oracle.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.6%, with Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) and IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) among the biggest laggards. The S&P 500 declined 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1%.

Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) was the biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Shares of the software giant tumbled nearly 10% after its third-quarter sales fell short of forecasts.

Investors are using high-profile earnings disappointments like Oracle's as an "excuse" to step back following a significant advance in stocks, said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

The Dow and S&P have gained 10% since November, when stocks first began their big advance. During the past couple of weeks, the blue chip index has soared to record highs, while the S&P has remained less than 1% below its all-time high.

Given that the market has climbed so high so quickly, Sheldon said it would be "no surprise" to see a pullback of 3% to 5%. But he suspects that will be short-lived, as investors use the retreat to add to their stock positions.

Related: 5 reasons the bull market has room to run

The uncertainty in Cyprus has also been giving investors reason to take a breather.

While Cyprus hasn't spurred a huge sell-off in financial markets, Sheldon said investors still want to see that all the major players in Europe can work together to resolve the country's debt burden.

Early Thursday, the European Central Bank told the troubled nation it had until Monday to sort itself out or face the consequences of a potential financial collapse and/or exit from the euro.

"If this drags out and causes more infighting among countries in Europe, that could lead to further instability in a part of the world that badly needs continued coordination," said Sheldon.

Related: Google vs. Apple. Which is your favorite?

Meanwhile, investors mulled several reports on the health of the U.S. economy.

Jobless claims totaled 336,000 last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That's up 2,000 from the prior week, but less than the 345,000 forecast by Briefing.com consensus.

The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in February edged up 0.8% to an annual rate of 4.98 million, a 3-year high but slightly lower than expectations.

The Philly Fed's index rose to 2 in March from -12.5 the prior month. Readings lower than zero signal contraction in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. Economists were expecting a reading of -3 for March.

Just days after recalling see-through yoga pants, lululemon athletica (LULU) reported earnings and sales that squeaked past estimates and said it was working closely with manufacturers to resolve the yoga pant issue. The company also said its current quarter and full-year earnings would come in below analysts' forecasts.

KB Home (KBH) shares edged higher after the homebuilder reported that sales surged 59% in the first quarter, as more homes were delivered and prices increased.

Shares of Scholastic (SCHL) sank after the the children's book publisher lowered its forecast for the year a second time as sales of the Hunger Games books remained below last year's levels.

Related: Fear & Greed Index edges into extreme greed

European markets ended sharply lower, while Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite added 0.3% and the Nikkei increased 1.3%, while the Hang Seng declined 0.1%.

A report on Chinese manufacturing showed activity expanded at a faster clip than expected by many economists, which may quell worries about the country's economy slowing down.

The dollar rose against the euro, but fell versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil prices edged lower, and gold prices gained.

The price on the 10-year Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.92% from 1.94% late Wednesday.

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Stocks rise on Cyprus hopes

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) U.S. stocks rose Friday on optimism that officials in Cyprus will reach a deal this weekend to rescue the nation's troubled banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 90 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both gained 0.7%. The Dow is back above 14,500 and the S&P 500 is once again less than 1% away from the record high it set in October 2007.

Despite Friday's advance, the major gauges all ended the week down a little less than 0.5%. All three indexes are up between 7% and 11% so far in 2013.

Officials in Cyprus could make decisions on "the hard dilemmas" facing the country later Friday, according to a government spokesman.

"This is being interpreted as a step towards a solution," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities. "We don't know what that solution will be, but there seems to be something in the works."

Cyprus is facing a Monday deadline to come up with

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Stocks end higher on Fed stimulus pledge

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) U.S. stocks rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reiterated that its stimulus measures will remain in effect until the job market gets back on track.

The Fed said in its policy statement that it will continue buying $85 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to help "make broader financial conditions more accommodative."

Speaking to reporters, Fed chair Ben Bernanke acknowledged that payroll data improved in February, but he cautioned that the trend may not last. The Fed also trimmed the upper end of its forecast for economic growth in 2013.

"This was pretty much what I expected," said Doug Roberts, chief market strategist for Channel Capital Research. The statement and Bernanke's comments "eliminate any lingering doubts about his position," Roberts said.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4%, to close at 14,511. Shortly after the Fed's announcement, the Dow hit a new intraday record high of 14,546.82. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq advanced 0.8%.

Stocks have been rallying on a combination of improving economic data and stimulus from the Fed.

So far this year, all three major U.S. indexes have gained between 9% and 11%, and the Dow recently had its longest string of gains since 1996.

Bernanke downplayed concerns about a stock market bubble.

"We don't see, at this point, anything that's out of line with historical patterns," Bernanke said, noting that the Dow was still far below its all-time high in inflation-adjusted terms.

Related: Cyprus buys some time

Meanwhile, investors continue to monitor developments out of Cyprus after lawmakers voted against a tax on bank deposits, which had been part of a

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Americans still doubtful about stocks, economy

A CNN/ORC poll shows most Americans don't think investing in stocks at this time is a good idea.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Record-high stock prices are not enough to convince the majority of Americans to invest in stocks, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

Asked if they thought it would be a good idea or bad idea to invest in stocks if they had $1,000 to spend, 55% of those surveyed said it would be a bad idea, while 43% thought it would be a good idea.

The poll of 1,021 adult Americans was conducted between March 15 and 17, a period immediately following a string of eight straight record high closes for the Dow Jones industrial average.

Continued doubts about the economy may be what's making Americans hesitant to jump into the market. Only 31% said they thought the economy was either good or very good, compared to 69% who described it as poor or very poor. That was a slight improvement from December, when 26% believed the economy was in good condition.

Besides the strong run for stocks, there has also been a drop in unemployment and further signs of a housing market recovery since December.

Related: Fear and Greed index shows less fear, more greed

Americans might also be worried that the bull market has made stocks overvalued. But even with the run-up, some experts, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, argue that stocks remain undervalued even at these levels.

The most recent figures on investing show that Americans have pulled money out of stocks in each of the two most recent weeks for which data is available, after pouring money into stocks the first seven weeks of the year.

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