Stocks on Wall Street fall, weighed down by Oracle’s weak sales and more Cyprus worries

Stocks are falling on Wall Street as weak sales from Oracle and worries about Cyprus’ ability to get a bailout weighed on the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 33 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 14,478 in midday trading Thursday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,554. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 20 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 3,233.

The European Central Bank has threatened to end emergency support of Cyprus’ banks next week unless the nation can come up with a plan to avoid bankruptcy.

In the U.S., technology stocks dragged the indexes lower after Oracle reported an unexpected decline in sales in its fiscal third quarter.