By Rex Crum
Technology stocks put in a strong trading performance Friday as
several sector leaders advanced and turned their backs on initial
uncertainty from the latest job-loss and unemployment figures.
Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Dell Inc. (DELL),
Apple Inc. (AAPL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), IBM Corp. (IBM) and
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) all held on to small gains.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) retreated early, but recovered
to end the day with a gain of 17 points to close at 2,317. The
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) recorded a small gain and
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) climbed 1.5%.
The overall market rose despite some early concerns about Labor
Department figures that showed 85,000 non-farm jobs were lost in
December. The official unemployment rate in the U.S. remained at
10%.
Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) rose
by 54 cents a share, or almost 4%, to $14.55. Needham & Co.
analysts Edwin Mok raised his rating on Applied to by from hold,
saying that the company is in a better position than other "pure
play" semiconductor equipment makers to deliver growth this
year.
Google Inc. (GOOG) shares rose $7.92 to $602.02. Late Thursday,
it was reported that Google has applied with the U.S. Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission to get permission to buy and sell
power in bulk amounts. The move could put Google in the
electricity-trading market.
One big decliner was Lawson Software Inc. (LWSN), which fell 60
cents a share, or 8.6%, to $6.39. On Thursday, the
business-software maker reported a 9% drop in its second-quarter
earnings and gave a weaker-than-expected for its fiscal third
quarter.
Lawson expects to earn 7 to 9 cents a share on revenue in a
range of $174 million to $178 million, while analysts surveyed by
Thomson Reuters had forecast the company to earn 10 cents a share
on $175 million in sales for its third quarter.