Stocks fell on Thursday as lackluster technology and materials companies' earnings failed to live up to heightened expectations, threatening to short-circuit a seven-week rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dipped 2.19 points, or 0.02 percent, to end unofficially at 11,823.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> lost 1.66 points, or 0.13 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,280.26. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> fell 21.07 points, or 0.77 percent, to close unofficially at 2,704.29.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)