STORY: Stocks finished mixed Thursday with the Dow posting a small gain, the S&P 500 falling fractionally and the Nasdaq losing seven-tenths of one percent.Investors were rattled by the latest earnings reports and worried about whether hefty spending on artificial intelligence would pay off for mega‑cap tech companies.Microsoft shares plunged 10% after the software giant's cloud revenue failed to impress and stoked fears that heavy spending on its OpenAI alliance was not reaping returns fast enough.But Eric Diton, president and managing director of the Wealth Alliance, remains a fan.“I'm not scared of Microsoft. I'm really surprised the sell-off is this severe because the numbers were great. They continue to deliver. And I actually think that OpenAI is going to deliver.”Other software stocks tumbled with SAP's U.S.-listed shares falling 15% after the company's cloud revenue forecast failed to meet market expectations.Shares of ServiceNow slid 10% as its earnings report added to the gloom.Friday could be a better day for the technology sector.After the market closed Thursday, Apple’s stock climbed in extended trading after it beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue powered by strong demand for its iPhones and a sharp rebound in China.And CEO Tim Cook told Reuters that demand for Apple's latest handsets was (quote) "staggering."