By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Amazon.com Inc. shares rose
Wednesday on the company's results, but Research In Motion's stock
rally fizzled as the handset maker rolled out a new product and
said it was changing its name to BlackBerry.
The early spotlight fell on Amazon (AMZN), which saw its stock
jump 6% to $274.78. Late Tuesday, the company reported weak sales
but surprisingly robust operating income for the fourth
quarter.
The sector also got an early lift from RIM (RIMM) , U.S.-listed
shares of which rallied ahead of the much-anticipated rollout of
BlackBerry 10 at a launch event in New York.
But RIM shares reversed course late morning, falling 4% to
$15.02 as the company also announced that it was changing its name
to BlackBerry.
Chip stocks also posted gains, with Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) adding
1.5% to stand at $34.20. Late Tuesday, the chip maker reported a
drop in profit and a weak outlook.
In a note, Bernstein Research analyst Stacy Rasgon said, "Yes,
it does appear that Apple shortfalls have affected Broadcom.
However, we note unexpected strength in Broadcom's wireless
business in Q3 and Q4."
He added: "It is quite probable that some of the shortfall could
be due to over-shipment of parts in the wake of what appeared to be
fairly rapid order cuts. If true, this could be evidence of
'choppiness' in the market driven by customer mix issues, rather
than broader slowdowns in the smartphone market."
Meanwhile, shares of Facebook Inc. (FB) traded up 2% to $31.36.
The advance came ahead of the social-networking giant's
fourth-quarter financial results due after the closing bell.
and
On the downside, shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Cisco
Systems (CSCO) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) were in the red.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was mostly flat, last up a
point at 3,154. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was
ahead 0.2%.
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