By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks looked to end the
week with mild gains Friday, as several sector leaders posted small
gains and the market still couldn't get enough of Chinese
video-content site Youku.com Inc.
Shares of Youku (YOKU), often called China's equivalent of
YouTube, climbed more than 13% to $48, two days after making its
public debut on U.S. markets. Since pricing its initial public
offering at $12.80, Youku's shares have climbed more than 280%.
Another Chinese Internet company that went public Wednesday,
E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (DANG), also continued to flex its
muscles, rising 3%. Dangdang's shares rallied almost 90% on
Wednesday after its IPO. The company is considered to be Amazon.com
(AMZN) of China.
Among leading tech stocks, Netflix Inc. (NFLX) rose 2.5% on news
that the stock will be added to the S&P 500 Index (SPX).
Gains also came from Dell Inc. (DELL), Oracle Corp. (ORCL),
Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Atmel Corp. (ATML).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) edged up 1.6 points to 2,618.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) also managed to eke out
a small gain.
Among decliners, National Semiconductor Corp. (NSM) shares fell
almost 7%. Late Thursday, the chip maker reported a 78% increase in
its quarterly earnings, but gave a weaker-than-expected
first-quarter sales forecast.