By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks were mixed Friday
morning, as an upswing following the latest jobs report was offset
by notable drops at stocks like Dell Inc. and Apple Inc.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 0.2% in early trades
while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 0.5%. The
Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index (MSH) picked up 0.2%.
Dell (DELL) shares slipped nearly 2% in early trading to $13.06
after the company issued a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, warning shareholders of "substantial downside risk" to
the stock if the buyout deal from Michael Dell and Silver Lake is
rejected.
The filing also pointed out the risks of Dell's efforts to
transform into an enterprise IT business to diversify away from the
slowing PC business. It noted that the planned transition "is
risky, expensive and a multiyear process," adding that the company
has spent $13 billion on acquisitions so far as part of this
process.
"As the environment continues to evolve rapidly, additional
investments and acquisitions are likely to be required to complete
the transformation," the filing said.
Shares of archrival Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) were up 1%; the Dell
filing noted that the company's "recent performance has been
superior to Dell's" in its filing.
Apple (AAPL) shares slipped by 0.8% to $417.30. Arch-rival
Samsung Electronics reported lower-than-expected smartphone
shipments for its June quarter, with analysts pointing to sales of
the Galaxy S4 flagship device that may have been below estimates.
Sales of the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 may be crimped by slowing
demand at the high end of the smartphone market.
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