The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as chip shares tumbled. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that set the tone for Canada, where the domestic benchmark stock index suffered its seventh decline in eight trading days since notching a record closing high. Microsoft and Meta both beat quarterly revenue estimates after the bell. Meta shares were down modestly in postmarket trading as user numbers were softer than expected and it warned of a significant acceleration in its infrastructure expenses next year. Shares of Alphabet rose 2.8 per cent in regular trading after the company late Tuesday beat expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit. Alphabet helped to offset falling chip stocks, weighed by dour forecasts from Advanced Micro Devices and Qorvo, which fell 10.6 per cent and 27.3 per cent, respectively; Nvidia slipped 1.4 per cent. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 54.76 at 24,507.79. The materials sector fell 1 per cent even as the price of gold extended its record-setting run. Energy added 0.3 per cent as the price of oil settled 2.1 per cent higher at $68.61 (U.S.) a barrel. Secure Energy Services jumped 9.9 per cent on third-quarter results.