NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Technology shares tumbled, dragging on the broader market Thursday, as investors took a step back near the end of an otherwise strong week on Wall Street.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 15.99 to 2,054.47, Charts) lost 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 2.08 to 11,100.43, Charts) ended little changed, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 5.20 to 1,263.20, Charts) index fell 0.4 percent.

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Treasury prices slipped, boosting the corresponding yields, and the dollar fell against other major currencies. Oil prices gained, as did gold.

On Friday, the focus turns to the advanced read on gross domestic product growth in the second quarter. GDP is expected to slow to a 3.1 percent annualized rate from a 5.6 percent annualized rate in the previous quarter.

All three major gauges had posted gains through the early afternoon, but the advance lost steam as the session wore on and the technology sector turned negative.

Microsoft (down $0.50 to $23.87, Charts) shares slipped amid reports emerging from its annual financial analyst meeting. The decline may have given investors an incentive to back out of other tech stocks as well.

"The Nasdaq 100 had a nice little oversold bounce and I thought it would have continued a bit longer, but instead we're seeing a little profit taking," said David Briggs, head of equity trading at Federated Investors.

Briggs was referring to the Nasdaq's 100 largest stocks.

The major stock gauges jumped Monday and Tuesday and ended close to unchanged Wednesday, leaving the market vulnerable to some profit taking Thursday.

By Wednesday's close, the Nasdaq had gained 2.5 percent for the week, while the Dow industrials had gained 2.2 percent and the S&P 500 had gained 2.3 percent.

However, a little pullback Thursday and possibly even Friday wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the stock market, Briggs said, noting that it could lead to a bounce early next week.

Stocks have been choppy for the last few weeks. Not only are investors contending with worries about how slowing economic growth and higher interest rates will impact corporate profits, but they are dealing with the low trading volume and increased volatility that is typical of summer.

Exxon's upbeat earnings and strength in oil, gold and silver stocks boosted the broader market Thursday morning but failed to help in the afternoon.

In general, blue-chip, defensive and multinational stocks are doing better than the rest of the market right now, said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co.

He said that moving into those sectors was typical at a time when the U.S. economy is expected to head into a period of slower growth.

Exxon Mobil reported quarterly earnings surged 36 percent to more than $10 billion, topping forecasts, on rising oil prices and strength in refining. Exxon (down $0.13 to $66.47, Charts) shares gained in the morning but ended up closing lower.

Intel (down $0.03 to $17.47, Charts) said late Wednesday it will ship new chips for laptops and desktops in August. Shares initially rose on the news but ultimately ended lower.

A number of other big-cap tech stocks fell, including Microsoft, Cisco (down $0.25 to $17.69, Charts) and Yahoo! (down $0.38 to $26.70, Charts)

Tellabs (down $1.75 to $9.25, Charts) slumped 16 percent in active Nasdaq trade. The telecom gear maker reported higher quarterly earnings that beat estimates but also warned that current-quarter revenue will miss forecasts.

On the upside for tech: Symantec (up $1.44 to $17.24, Charts) shares gained after the software maker reported earnings that grew from a year ago and beat estimates.

But the day's earnings news was more discouraging than encouraging. Aetna (down $6.71 to $33.25, Charts) reported lower quarterly net income owing to higher medical costs and cut its full-year membership forecast. The health insurer's shares slumped 17 percent in active New York Stock Exchange trading.

Dow Chemical (down $3.74 to $33.54, Charts) reported weaker quarterly earnings that missed estimates as a result of surging energy costs. The nation's biggest chemical maker also cautioned that 2006 earnings are unlikely to meet earlier forecasts.

The No. 3 chemical maker, Lyondell Chemical (down $0.75 to $21.62, Charts), also slumped after reporting quarterly earnings that missed estimates. But Lyondell's results showed growth from a year ago, thanks to stronger refining results.

In other news, Bristol-Myers Squibb (down $1.95 to $24.04, Charts) said it is the target of a criminal antitrust probe by the federal government regarding a patent settlement with a generic competitor. The drugmaker also reported quarterly earnings that fell from a year ago yet edged estimates.

But the earnings news was overshadowed by the probe, and Bristol-Myers shares slumped 7.5 percent in active New York Stock Exchange trading.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners 9 to 7 on volume of nearly 1.82 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 3 to 2 on volume of almost 2.16 billion shares.

In economic news, a report showed that new home sales fell more than expected in June, reflecting the ongoing slowdown in the housing market.

Durable goods orders jumped 3.1 percent in June, topping forecasts, powered by a big jump in aircraft orders. Excluding transportation, orders rose a larger than expected 1 percent, the government reported.

A separate report showed a surprise drop in weekly jobless claims, versus economists' expectations for a rise.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery gained 60 cents to settle at $74.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 5.08 percent from 5.03 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar fell against the euro and yen after the morning's housing report.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $10.80 to $646 an ounce.