Stocks move lower as energy, technology stocks fall

NEW YORK — Stocks were slightly lower in afternoon trading yesterday following three straight days of gains this week. Technology stocks were trading heavily, particularly Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter. Energy stocks fell with the price of oil.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 97 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,25 as of 3:05 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,169 and the Nasdaq composite fell 23 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,316.

AD MAN: Facebook shares fell $2.19, or 1.7 percent, to $127.90 after The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook was overstating the length of how long its users were watching its video ads, raising concerns that a portion of Facebook's ad revenue may be at risk.

BREACH: Yahoo fell $1.40, or 3.2 percent, to $42.75 after the company admitted the data of 500 million users was stolen by a foreign agent, much more than the company previously acknowledged. While Yahoo has previously agreed to sell most of its assets to Verizon, there were concerns that this development may cause Verizon to go back to the negotiation table.

TWITTER CHATTER: Twitter soared $3.93, or 21 percent, to $22.58 after CNBC reported that the company is in deal talks with Salesforce and Google's parent company Alphabet for a possible sale. Alphabet and Salesforce were both down in early trading.

FED HANGOVER: Stocks posted solid gains this week, with the S&P 500 up 1.3 percent, as investors were relieved that the Federal Reserve decided to keep rates at their current low levels yet again. The next time the Fed could raise rates is November, but the general impression among investors is the central bank will not raise rates until December, long after the general election.

"As much as market fundamentals matter, the Fed and its decisions continue to dominate markets," said Kristina Hooper, head of US investment strategies at Allianz Global Investors.

ENERGY: Oil prices fell sharply after reports that Saudi Arabia was unable to reach an agreement with Iran to cut production. US benchmark crude oil futures closed down $1.84 to $44.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.76 to $45.89 a barrel.

Energy companies were hit hard on the reports, with the energy component of the S&P 500 down 1.2 percent, much more than the broader market.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: The yield on the US Treasury 10-year note was little changed at 1.61 percent. The euro rose to $1.1228 from $1.204 and the dollar edged up to 101.00 yen from 100.89 yen.