NEW YORK - US technology shares edged higher on Monday, but the broader market was largely unchanged, with gains in tech bellwethers such as Microsoft Corp. offsetting a sell-off in mining and energy stocks as commodity prices slid.
Citigroup raised the technology hardware and equipment sector to "overweight" from "market
weight," fueling optimism about the outlook for technology, which is among the sectors viewed as a gauge of economic growth.
A report that two groups of private equity firms are bidding to buy chip maker Freescale Semiconductor Inc. for about US$16 billion gave the tech sector another boost.
Freescale shares soared 20.5 per cent, or US$6.31, to US$37.06 and ranked among the biggest percentage gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.
"There's encouraging news on the technology front," said Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at The Boston Co. Asset Management, a Mellon subsidiary.
"Comments from Fed governor Poole also helped the market stabilize a little bit in the afternoon."
William Poole, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, told reporters "the economy is not fragile -- it is robust." Speaking in an interview with CNBC television, he also said it looked like inflation was under control.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.73 points, or 0.04 per cent, to end at 11,396.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index eked out a gain of just 0.62 of a point, or 0.05 per cent, to finish at 1,299.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 7.46 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 2,173.25.
After the bell, shares of Texas Instruments Inc. slipped 1.6 per cent to US$31.27 in electronic trading as the world's biggest maker of chips for cellphones narrowed the range of its earnings and revenue targets for the third quarter.
Texas Instruments shares ended regular trading at US$31.78, up 2.5 per cent, or 78 cents, on the NYSE.
TECHS AND BOEING DEFY GRAVITY
During the regular session, Microsoft shares climbed 1.2 per cent, or 31 cents, to US$25.91 and led the top gainers in the Nasdaq 100.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange's semiconductor index rose 2.4 per cent, its biggest one-day percentage gain in almost a month.
In addition to Microsoft, the other leading positive influences on the Nasdaq 100 were software company Oracle Corp., up 2.4 per cent, or 38 cents, at US$16.29; the leading Web search company Google Inc., up 1.7 per cent, or US$6.24, at US$384.09; network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc., up 1 per cent, or 21 cents, at US$21.96, and wireless chip developer Qualcomm Inc., up 0.7 per cent, or 27 cents, at US$36.81.
Boeing Co. ranked No. 1 among the Dow's major advancers, with a gain of 1.4 per cent, or US$1.02, to US$73.82 on the NYSE. The aircraft manufacturer and US defence contractor said it is among six companies selected to compete for a US$5 billion satellite communications system programme for the US Army.
"We had oversold conditions (last week), with people just being negative on the market. People are going to be fairly bullish heading into options expiration this week," said Mike O'Hare, head of US equity cash sales and trading for JP Morgan Chase & Co.
But shares of Dell Inc. fell 2.1 per cent, or 46 cents, to US$21.19 on Nasdaq after the personal computer maker said it will cancel a meeting with Wall Street analysts for the second time this year and announced that it will suspend stock buybacks amid an expanding government probe of its accounting practices.
EXXON MOBIL AND ALCOA SLIDE
Until midday, the major stock indexes had traded lower as falling oil and commodity prices took a toll on the shares of energy and mining companies.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, fell 2.8 per cent, or US$1.87, to US$64.94 on the NYSE. It was the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500.
Shares of the world's largest aluminum producer, Alcoa Inc., dropped 5.3 per cent, or US$1.52, to US$27.16 on the NYSE. That was the stock's biggest decline in nearly a year.
US crude oil futures for October delivery sank to a fresh five-month low on Monday, but trimmed that sharp decline to settle at US$65.61 a barrel, down 64 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, Nymex October crude hit a session low at US$64.85 -- the lowest price for the front-month US crude futures contract since March 28.
Trading was moderate on the NYSE, with about 1.67 billion shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 1.61 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 1.75 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 1.80 billion.
Overall breath was negative, with declining stocks outnumbering advancing one by a ratio of about 6 to 5 on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq.
- REUTERS
NEW YORK - US technology shares edged higher on Monday, but the broader market was largely unchanged, with gains in tech bellwethers such as Microsoft Corp. offsetting a sell-off in mining and energy stocks as commodity prices slid.
Citigroup raised the technology hardware and equipment sector to "overweight" from "market
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