By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks gave up much of their
gains by the close of trading Thursday, with Apple Inc. closing in
the red as anticipation continued to grow about what the company
has in store for a coming company event next week.
Apple (AAPL) ended the day down almost 1%, at $98.12, one day
after investors pared 4% off the company's shares. Speculation is
rife that, in addition to launching the iPhone 6, Apple may also
debut a smartwatch and incorporate digital wallet technology into
its mobile devices.
Digital-camera maker GoPro Inc. (GPRO) lost 6.7% to end the day
at $53.08. Before the market opened, J.P. Morgan analyst Paul
Coster cut his rating on GoPro to neutral from overweight, citing
GoPro shares' rapid pace of growth. They're up 137% since GoPro
went public on June 25.
Other decliners included Pandora Media Inc. (P), which fell
5.6%; Groupon Inc. (GRPN), off by 2%, and Hewlett-Packard Co.
(HPQ), which shed 1% to close at $37.66.
Amazon (AMZN) shares bucked the losing trend and rose 2% to
close at $345.95 a day after the company announced Brian Olsavsky,
a vice president for Amazon's global consumer business, will
succeed Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak, who plans to retire
next summer.
Twitter Inc. (TWTR), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Facebook Inc.
(FB) also notched gains.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 10 points to
close at 4,562, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)
edged into positive territory.
(Read more about the days market action in Movers & Shakers
http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid.).
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