By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks joined a broad
market rally early Monday, propelled by rising shares of Microsoft
Corp. and Micron Technology.
Microsoft (MSFT) was up 2% at $41.17, the best performer on the
Dow Jones Industrial Average, (DJI) which was up 125 points.
Micron Technology (MU) was also up more than 6% at $23.36, the
top gainer on the S&P 500(SPX), which was up 1%.
Shares of AT&T (T) were up 0.5%. The telecommunications
company said Monday that its board of directors approved a new plan
to repurchase 300 million shares of stock, or about 6% of its
current shares outstanding.
On the downside, shares of BlackBerry Inc. (RIMM) shed 3%. The
mobile technology company last week reported a
narrower-than-expected loss, but posted sales that were below
estimates. Credit Suisse on Monday downgraded the stock to
underperform from neutral.
"We are concerned by the level of free cash flow burn and the
ongoing pressure in services revenues and believe visibility on a
turnaround is very low," Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha
told clients in a note.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 48 points, or nearly 1%,
to 4,203. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was up 1.5%,
while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was up 1.5%.
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