The last thing technology investors probably expected was a cold shower, given the Nasdaq’s recent hot streak. But Microsoft gave them one on Thursday when the software group announced the first fall in full-year sales in its 24 years as a public company. Microsoft’s numbers missed Wall Street’s already-downbeat fourth-quarter forecast by more than $1bn. On Friday, stock prices continued to drop across the sector, while Microsoft’s shares extended an 8 per cent after-hours fall.