Tech Stocks Drag US Indexes Lower

Technology companies took sharp losses for a third day in a row and US indexes are closing lower, the AP reports. Twitter skidded 8% and Google's parent company Alphabet gave up 1.8%. Technology companies have done far better than the rest of the market for more than a year but weak reports from Twitter and Facebook have sent it lower. Energy companies rose with oil prices. US crude climbed 2.1% to $70.13 a barrel. The S&P 500 index fell 16 points, or 0.6%, to 2,802. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 144 points, or 0.6%, to 25,306. The Nasdaq composite fell 107 points, or 1.4%, to 7,630. (More stock market stories.)