Oracle Corp on Wednesday posted a 2 percent drop in new software sales and Internet-based software subscriptions to $2.3 billion in its fiscal third quarter, below its own forecasts.

The world's No. 3 software maker had forecast a 3 to 13 percent jump in new software license and cloud subscription revenue. Investors scrutinize new software sales because they generate high-margin, long-term maintenance contracts and are an important barometer of future profit.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Richard Chang)