By Rex Crum
Technology stocks flagged late in the session Wednesday as many
sector leaders saw gains trimmed or erased ahead of the latest
earnings report from Cisco Systems Inc.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) gave up all of its
gains to shed 1.8 points and close at 2,055. However, the Morgan
Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index (SOX) posted small gains.
Among tech stocks, advances came Microsoft Corp. (MSFT),
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), IBM Corp. (IBM), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and
Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN).
Cisco (CSCO) shares rose 38 cents to $23.29 ahead of the
networking giant's fiscal first-quarter report, due after the
market's close. Analysts are expecting Cisco to earn 31 cents a
share on $8.7 billion in sales.
Intel Corp. (INTC) shares rose 23 cents to $18.59. Earlier in
the day, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed an antitrust
suit against the world's largest semiconductor company, charging it
with "bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold" on the chip
market.
Much of the market spent the day awaiting the results of the
Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, which decided to keep the
target for the fed funds rate between zero and 0.25%.
While many tech stocks rose, some notable decliners emerged.
STEC Inc. (STEC) shares plunged $9.01, or almost 39%, to $14.14
after the maker of flash-memory storage and solid-state drives said
that one of its top customers, EMC Corp. (EMC), would carry its
2009 inventory over into 2010.
The EMC decision is seen as potentially harming STEC's
first-quarter results next year and a sign that demand for product
replacements could be slowing.
Maxwell Technologies Inc. (MXWL), a maker of power-management
technology products, saw its shares fall $2.67, or more than 14%,
to $16.29 as analysts at Piper Jaffray cut their rating on the
company's stock to underweight from neutral. However, analysts at
Needham & Co. raised their rating on Maxwell to buy from hold
following the company's third-quarter results and fourth-quarter
outlook.