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Stocks declined modestly on Wednesday as equities retreated from recent gains, while weak earnings from Oracle raised concerns about the health of the tech sector, pressuring the group and pushing the Nasdaq down more than 1 percent.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as weak earnings from Oracle raised concerns about the health of the tech sector ahead of the start of fourth-quarter earnings season in January.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as weak earnings from Oracle raised concerns about the health of the tech sector and on concerns that cut-rate loans from the European Central Bank will not filter down to help Europe's debt-stricken countries.

Shares of Oracle, the biggest enterprise software developer, fell more than 15 percent Wednesday after the company missed second-quarter estimates for earnings.

Oracle Corp's earnings fell short of Wall Street's forecasts for the first time in a decade as software and hardware sales sputtered, sending its shares down more than 10 percent and stoking fears a global recession will hurt tech spending.

Shares of Oracle, the biggest enterprise software developer, fell nearly 10 percent in pre-market trading Wednesday after the company missed second-quarter estimates for earnings.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Research In Motion, Polycom, and Yandex. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Oracle, Conceptus, ARM Holdings, ASML Holding, Baidu, and Paychex.

Europe's banks borrowed nearly €490 billion or $637 billion from the European Central Bank at its first-ever offer of three-year loans on Wednesday, encouraging demand for the euro and stocks on hopes the funding will ease the two-year old debt crisis. On Wednesday at mid-day, London's FTSE 100 was down 25 points to 5,393, Germany's DAX was down 29 points to 5,819, and France's CAC 40 was off 22 points to 3,033.

Oracle shares plummeted on Wednesday in German trading after the large software maker missed analysts' profit expectations for the first time in a decade.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.62 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.61 percent at 0910 GMT.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Research In Motion, FSI International, Cintas, Suffolk Bancorp, and Westell Technologies. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Oracle, L & L Energy, Columbia Laboratories, Epoch Investment Partners, and Autodesk.

Oracle Corp fell well short of Wall Street's expectations on both hardware and software sales in its fiscal second quarter, wiping more than 8 percent off its shares.

Oracle Corp's profit missed Wall Street's forecasts for the first time in a decade after new software sales sputtered, hammering its shares and stoking fears that a global economic slowdown is hurting tech spending.

Oracle, the biggest developer of software databases and applications, reported second-quarter results and revenues that narrowly missed analyst estimates.

Oracle's second-quarter results narrowly missed estimates for earnings and revenue.

Oracle, the biggest enterprise software developer, is scheduled to report second-quarter results late Tuesday. Here are some expert tips on what to watch in the announcement.

Here are some items to watch when Oracle reports: earnings, Europe outlook, cash, deferred revenue, third-quarter earnings forecast

Salesforce.com Inc is entering the business of selling human resources software in a move that raises the stakes in its battle to woo customers away from bigger rivals SAP AG and Oracle Corp..

A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a class-action lawsuit against Oracle Corp, basing its ruling on a state court decision that employers in California must pay nonresident workers for overtime work performed in the state.

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) could come in to spotlight after Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BCSI) said Friday it has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by San Francisco-based private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo, LLC, for about $1.3 billion.

Blue Coat Systems Inc., a maker of equipment that secures, monitors, and speeds Internet traffic, has agreed to be taken private for $1.1 billion in a deal that throws a lifeline to a company beset by falling sales and a U.S. government probe into use of its products by Syria.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire software company DemandTec, Inc. (NASDAQ:DMAN) for about $440 million or $13.20 a share.

IBM, the No. 2 computer giant, said it plans to acquire e-commerce specialist DemandTec for $440 million to beef up its retail and marketing software services.

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Nathan's Famous, Thoratec, Netlist, Iridium Communications, and DryShips. The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Internap Network Services, PowerSecure International, Clearwire, Bon-Ton Stores, and Pacific Biosciences of California.

SAP AG's purchase of Web-based software company SuccessFactors Inc could be the catalyst the old-school German technology giant needs to try to catch up to rivals in the fast-growing cloud computing market.

SAP AG's purchase of Web-based software company SuccessFactors Inc could be the catalyst the old-school German technology giant needs to try to catch up to rivals in the fast-growing cloud computing market.

As Oracle, SAP and IBM snap up rivals in business analytics software, Information Builders will stay independent, founding CEO Gerald D. Cohen told International Business Times.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Affymax, Taleo, Universal Display, DryShips, Hercules Offshore, Staples, and Huntington Bancshares. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Fushi Copperweld, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and Research In Motion.

Germany's SAP announced a $3.4 billion cash deal to buy U.S. Web-based software company SuccessFactors, joining the scramble among technology firms to offer cloud-computing services to businesses.