By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks tried to maintain
positive momentum Thursday, but Hewlett-Packard Co. remained a
standout advancer following upbeat reaction to the tech giant's
latest earnings results.
H-P (HPQ) shares rose more than 4% to $36.68 after the company
late Wednesday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit, excluding
one-time items, of 89 cents a share on $27.6 billion in sales. H-P
met consensus earnings forecast and exceeded the $27.06 revenue
estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Among the highlights of H-P's report was a 12% gain in PC
revenue, with total units sold rising 13% from the year-ago period.
(Read more about H-P and other stocks in Movers & Shakers
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ups-dollar-tree-hormel-foods-are-stocks-to-watch-thursday-2014-08-21.).
German chip maker Infineon Technologies slipped into the red
after it said late Wednesday that it would acquire power-management
semiconductor maker International Rectifier Corp. (IRF) for $3
billion in an all-cash deal.
Gains also came from eBay Inc. (EBAY), IBM Corp. (IBM) and
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which rose 7 cents a share to $45.02 as
analysts suggested the company make look at returning more cash to
shareholders at next month's board meeting. (Read more about
Microsoft's game plans in Rex On Techs
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsofts-board-may-draw-up-new-game-plans-2014-08-20.).
Decliners included Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) and videogame
retailer GameStop Corp. (GME). Both companies are scheduled to
report quarterly results after the close of trading.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 1 point to
4,527, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) edged into
positive territory.
(Read more about the day's market action in Market Snapshot
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-up-as-fed-china-given-the-brush-off-2014-08-21.).
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