By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector settled in with early losses Monday, even as
shares of Intel Corp. and Applied Materials Inc. posted gains.
After rising modestly at the opening bell, the Nasdaq Composite
Index (RIXF) dipped about 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,310. The Morgan
Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down about 0.6%, while the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slipped 0.4%.
Meanwhile, shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) stood out, rising
0.4% after FBR Capital Markets upgraded the semiconductor-equipment
company's stock to outperform. Applied had been upgraded by Needham
& Co. on Friday.
FBR analyst Mehdi Hosseini cited Applied's momentum in the
ongoing chip sector rebound, saying, "Our view [is] that this cycle
is a two-year cycle, and thus peak earnings power should not be
realized until CY11."
Wall Street hopes for more upbeat news from the chip sector this
week when blue-chip giant Intel Corp. (INTC) kicks of the tech
earning season.
Intel's shares were up 0.7% as investors expect the world's
biggest semiconductor company to report higher sales and profit for
the fourth quarter. See story on Intel's earnings outlook.
But red appeared to be the color of the day for the tech
sector.
Major software makers posted losses, including Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL).
Hardware companies also were in negative territory, including
Apple Inc. (AAPL), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ).
On the other hand, Seagate Technology (STX) saw its shares jump
more than 4%.
The big Internet companies were also down, led by Amazon.com
Inc. (AMZN), shares of which were down more than 2%.