By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Upbeat reaction to the earnings
report and outlook from IBM Corp. helped give the tech sector a
mild boost Thursday morning, but losses from Intel Corp. and eBay
Inc. weighed on investors' minds due to those companies' own
disappointing quarterly forecasts.
But Dell Inc. (DELL) also grabbed some attention as the company
postponed a special shareholders vote meant to determine the fate
of Chief Executive Michael Dell's plans to take the company
private. The PC maker's stock was up 2.4% to $13.19 at last check.
The vote will now take place on July 24.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 0.4% to 3,622, while the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off by 0.5%, and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also retreated.
IBM (IBM) shares rose 2.4%, to $199.29, after the tech-services
giant on Wednesday raised its full-year earnings outlook to at
least $16.90 a share. IBM also reported second-quarter earnings
that exceeded Wall Street analysts' forecasts.
Citigroup analyst Walter Pritchard said in a research note that
IBM's results and forecast "could signal an improvement in outlook
for some of the large cap [software companies]" in the second half
of the year.
Meanwhile, eBay (EBAY) shares fell as much as 7%, to $53.29,
after Needham & Co. anlayst Kerry Rice cut his rating on the
online retailing company to hold from buy. Rice took his rating
down after eBay, on Wednesday, gave a third-quarter outlook that
disappointed investors.
EBay said it now expects to earn between 61 cents and 63 cents a
share, on revenue in a range of $3.85 billion to $3.95 billion for
its third quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had earlier
forecast eBay to earn 65 cents a sales of $3.97 billion for the
quarter.
Intel (INTC) was also having a rough day, as the chipmaker's
shares fell 3.5%, to $23.30. On Wednesday, Intel reported an
expected drop in second-quarter earnings, and also trimmed its
revenue forecast for the rest of the year. Analysts said Intel
would have had a hard time meeting Wall Street's forecasts, as the
company is putting much of its efforts into its new line of Haswell
chips.
Among other tech stocks, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) rose by a
fraction to $35.85 ahead of the software company's quarterly
results, due after the market close. Google Inc. (GOOG), which also
reports quarterly earnings after the close of trading, was off by
0.3% to $915.61.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) shares edged up by 3 cents, to
$4.41, ahead of the chipmaker's earnings report after the market
closes.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares added0.4% trade at $268.98. The
online video-streaming company received its first Emmy nominations
for its original series, as "House of Cards" was nominated for best
drama series, with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright each nominated for
their lead roles in the show. Netflix's "Arrested Development" was
also nominated for best comedy series, and AD" star Jason Bateman
got a nod for best actor in a comedy series.
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