Stocks ended mostly lower, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared to cling to a tiny gain Wednesday, with the market unable to fully shake off weak earnings from tech behemoths Microsoft Corp. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. . The Dow ended with a gain of just over 3 points, or less than 0.1%, according to preliminary figures. If the gain holds, the blue-chip gauge will have extended its winning streak to four sessions. The S&P 500 ended with a loss of 0.7%, while the Nasdaq shed 2%. Microsoft ended the day with a loss of 7.7%, while Alphabet shares dropped more than 9%. The tech sector fell 2.2%, while communications services, which includes Alphabet, dropped 4.7% to lead the way lower.
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