By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks were mostly higher
Tuesday, with Microsoft Corp. and Pandora Media Inc. among the
gainers as the sector tried to stage a comeback after recording big
losses during Monday's trading.
On Tuesday, Microsoft (MSFT) edged up by 52 cents a share to
close at $46.76 day after the software giant said it would acquire
Mojang, the developer of the popular "Minecraft" game franchise,
for $2.5 billion. Analysts said the deal was a play to attract more
users to mobile devices based on Microsoft's Windows operating
system.
Digital radio leader Pandora (P) cilmbed $1.65 a share, or 6.4%,
to close at $27.57. Analyst Doug Anmuth, of J.P. Morgan, reiterated
his overweight rating and $42-a-share price target on Pandora's
stock. Anmuth forecast stronger advertising revenue through the
rest of the year, with Pandora's listener hours at near all-time
highs.
Gains also came from eBay Inc. (EBAY), Facebook Inc. (FB),
Google Inc. (GOOGL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Apple (AAPL), however, remained a drag on the sector, falling
almost 1% to close at $100.86 a share. The problem: a Chinese
newspaper reports Apple hasn't finalized agreements that would
allow the iPhone 6 to be sold in China before the end of the
year.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose almost 34
points to 4,552 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)
closed with a gain of 1.7%.
(Read more about the day's other market action in Movers &
Shakers
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/adobe-factset-earnings-in-spotlight-2014-09-16.).
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