SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Technology stocks reversed early Thursday gains to close lower for a sixth straight session, with losses triggered in the semiconductor, Internet and networking sectors.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 17.74 points, ending lower for the sixth trading day in a row, although it suffered only a fractional loss Wednesday.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 7 points, pressured by declines in shares of Broadcom Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and Intel Corp.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index gave back nearly 3 points. The Goldman Sachs Hardware Index shed 1 point.
In Thursday trading, industry headliners Apple Computer Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. each fell more than 2%.
Intuit Inc., meanwhile, was one of the session's biggest percentage gainers, surging 6.6% to $51.73.
Shares of the financial-software company rose after Intuit raised its third-quarter forecasts on stronger-than-expected sales of its TurboTax line.
Former tech bellwether Sun Microsystems rose 3.57% to $4.51, boosted by a rare Wall Street upgrade for the long-struggling stock.
Lehman Bros. lifted its rating on Sun Micro to equal weight from underweight, citing expectations of research-and-development cost cuts and a stabilization in revenue growth. Analyst Harry Blount also raised his stock price target to $5.50 from $5 even.
'While we believe that the positive backlog and new products could contribute to the top line, the larger factor in our upgrade comes from potential cost-cutting initiatives [that] we believe could expand margins, enhance earnings per share and provide a floor on the stock,' Blount said.
Elsewhere, Agilent filed for an initial public offering by the chip-testing unit Verigy Ltd. The deal is forecast to be worth $115 million and to be led by underwriters Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 17.74 points, ending lower for the sixth trading day in a row, although it suffered only a fractional loss Wednesday.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 7 points, pressured by declines in shares of Broadcom Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and Intel Corp.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index gave back nearly 3 points. The Goldman Sachs Hardware Index shed 1 point.
In Thursday trading, industry headliners Apple Computer Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. each fell more than 2%.
Intuit Inc., meanwhile, was one of the session's biggest percentage gainers, surging 6.6% to $51.73.
Shares of the financial-software company rose after Intuit raised its third-quarter forecasts on stronger-than-expected sales of its TurboTax line.
Former tech bellwether Sun Microsystems rose 3.57% to $4.51, boosted by a rare Wall Street upgrade for the long-struggling stock.
Lehman Bros. lifted its rating on Sun Micro to equal weight from underweight, citing expectations of research-and-development cost cuts and a stabilization in revenue growth. Analyst Harry Blount also raised his stock price target to $5.50 from $5 even.
'While we believe that the positive backlog and new products could contribute to the top line, the larger factor in our upgrade comes from potential cost-cutting initiatives [that] we believe could expand margins, enhance earnings per share and provide a floor on the stock,' Blount said.
Elsewhere, Agilent filed for an initial public offering by the chip-testing unit Verigy Ltd. The deal is forecast to be worth $115 million and to be led by underwriters Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
© 2006 AFX News