U.S. markets stumbled Thursday morning with the bailout for Cyprus undecided and a dour report from technology giant Oracle Corp.
Technology stocks turned lower after Oracle said sales were in decline. Markets are also under pressure due to uncertainty over an international bailout for Cypriot banks. The European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission -- the so-called troika -- have given Cyprus until Monday to come up with a viable deal to secure a $13 billion loan.
The Cypriot parliament rejected the first proposal, which included a tax on bank deposits in Cyprus. The troika has rejected a counter offer of using pension funds to make a $7.5 billion contribution the troika demanded of Cyprus. The Wall Street Journal reported.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 85.66 points, or 0.59 percent, to 14,426.07.
The Nasdaq shed 26.74 points, or 0.86 percent, to 3,226.27.
The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 9.46 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,549.25.
Ten-year U.S. treasury bonds rose 9/32 to yield 1.93 percent.
Against the dollar, the euro was at $1.2885 from Wednesday's $1.2936. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at 95.09 yen from 96.01 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.34 percent, 167.46 points, to 12,635.69.
