By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Losses from Adobe Systems Inc.
and Rackspace Hosting Inc. stood out among tech stocks Wednesday,
running counter to what was an otherwise broad slate of gains for
the sector.
Adobe (ADBE) shares fell almost 5% to close at $67.30 on
reaction to the software company's latest quarterly results and
forecast.
Late Tuesday, Adobe reported fiscal third-quarter sales of $1.01
billion, which was shy of the $1.02 billion forecast by Wall Street
analysts. Adobe also said that for its fiscal fourth quarter, it
expects to earn between 26 cents and 32 cents a share, on revenue
in a range of $1.03 billion to $1.08 billion. Analysts had earlier
forecast Adobe to earn 29 cents a share on $1.05 billion in sales
for the quarter.
Rackspace (RAX) shares tumbled by almost 18% to end the day at
$32.39. After Tuesday's market close, the cloud-computing company
said it had stopped efforts to sell itself and would remain
independent. Rackspace also appointed company President Taylor
Rhodes as its new chief executive.
Among tech-sector leaders, gains came from Apple Inc. (AAPL) ,
which rose 72 cents to $101.58 on the day that its iOS 8 operating
system upgrade for the iPhone and iPad was released. While the
operating system got many high marks, there were still concerns
about how much storage the upgrade takes up on the iPhone
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), online travel agent Priceline.com
Inc. (PCLN) and eBay Inc. (EBAY) also ended the day with gains.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) shares shed 0.5% to close at $46.52. Late
Tuesday, the software giant said it would raise its quarterly by 3
cents a share, or 11%, to 31 cents a share. Microsoft also named
Kraft Foods Group Inc. Chief Financial Officer Teri List-Stoll and
Visa Inc. CEO Charles Scharf to its board of directors. It was
Microsoft's first dividend announcement and new director
appointments since former CEO Steve Ballmer left the company's
board in August.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 9 points to
close at 4,562 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) also
ended the day in positive territory.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires