May 2012
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Apr
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

You are here: Home > Trading PC > Tech Stocks: Techs struggle as Microsoft warning weighs

Tech Stocks: Techs struggle as Microsoft warning weighs

Posted in Trading PC | January 11th, 2012

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Technology stocks wobbled in early trading on Wednesday as Microsoft Corp.’s warning that personal computer shipments may be weaker than expected rattled investors.

Microsoft

/quotes/zigman/20493/quotes/nls/msft MSFT
+0.27%

slipped in early trading, before bouncing back to trade mostly flat. The stock was down a fraction at $27.83 at last check, after the software behemoth’s executives warned that PC shipments may be lower than analysts’ expectations in the wake of the devastating flooding in Thailand.

Click to Play

CES: Intel demos its smartphone ambitions

General Manager Mike Bell shows AllThingsD’s Ina Fried the design that the chipmaker hopes will finally get into the phone market.

“We have reduced our Microsoft estimates to reflect a more negative impact from the hard disk drive supply constraints resulting from the flooding in Thailand,” Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund said in a note, trimming estimates for Microsoft.

But Sherlund also maintained a buy rating on Microsoft noting “our positive view of Ultrabook Touch cycle beginning in September/October time frame.”

A new kind of ultraportable notebook, based on Intel Corp.’s

/quotes/zigman/20392/quotes/nls/intc INTC
+0.82%

Ultrabook concept, is expected to be a major factor in the PC market in the coming year. The device was one of the highlights of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“Directionally, investors know the PC business has spiraled down and the impact from Thailand is negative, so while the near-term numbers are lower, there is no change to numbers beyond the March quarter and the positive thesis of a significant upgrade cycle remains,” Sherlund added.

Still, Microsoft’s decline set the tone for the sector as the Nasdaq Composite Index

/quotes/zigman/123127 COMP
+0.37%

slipped a fraction to 2,701.

Shares of PC makers Hewlett-Packard

/quotes/zigman/229301/quotes/nls/hpq HPQ
-0.19%

and Dell Inc

/quotes/zigman/27952/quotes/nls/dell DELL
-0.13%

were in the red. Hard disk drive companies Western Digital

/quotes/zigman/245972/quotes/nls/wdc WDC
-0.62%

and Seagate Technology

/quotes/zigman/118457/quotes/nls/stx STX
+0.32%

were off more than 1%.

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index

/quotes/zigman/6015481 MSH
+0.54%

and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index

/quotes/zigman/1468249 SOX
+0.41%

were each up a fraction.