By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector slid early Wednesday as shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell at the opening bell on reports that its former chief executive may have played a role in the Galleon insider-trading case.
But the sector did get a boost from Unisys Corp. (UIS), shares of which soared more than 10% after the computer-services company swung to a third-quarter profit.
AMD (AMD) shares were down more than 4% in the opening minutes of trading following a Wall Street Journal report linking Hector Ruiz, the company's former CEO, to the insider-trading controversy at Galleon.
"We are investigating the situation, but we don't have any more detail to discuss publicly," AMD spokesman Michael Silverman said. "No current or former AMD employee has been charged with a crime and we're not aware of any allegation of criminal misconduct. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing Department of Justice investigation."
AMD set the pace for a broad-based retreat, as the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 0.7% to 2,101. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down 0.4%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) lost 0.7%.
Other major tech players were in the red, including, Dell Inc. (DELL), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).
Gains came from Amazon.com (AMZN), eBay Inc. (EBAY) and Texas Instruments (TXN).