Markets Right Now: A mixed start for US stocks as tech drags

U.S. stocks are off to a mixed start as gains in banks and energy companies are being offset by weakness in the technology sector.

Oil and gas companies benefited from increases in energy prices, but Microsoft dropped 7 percent after reporting disappointing earnings.

Disappointing earnings statements out of the U.S. from the likes of Microsoft and Alphabet, the corporate parent of Google, are weighing on European stock markets.