By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Led by losses from Intel Corp.,
tech stocks fell alongside the broad market Wednesday following a
set of disappointing U.S. economic data.
Many leading tech stocks pared losses after an initial market
plunge, but much of the sector remained in negative territory.
Bellwether Intel (INTC) fell 2.6% to $31.30. Morgan Stanley
analyst Joseph Moore cut his rating on the semiconductor giant to
underweight, or sell, from equal weight, over concerns about the
disparity between Intel's unit growth and overall PC unit sales
growth. Intel retreated in spite of delivering better-than-expected
quarterly results late Tuesday.
(Read more about Intel's third-quarter results
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-reports-higher-quaterly-earnings-sales-2014-10-14.).
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) fell 1.5%, to $442.65, in advance of the
video-streaming company's third-quarter results, due after the
close of trading. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate Netflix
will earn 92 cents a share on $1.41 billion in sales for the
quarter ended in September.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) climbed 2% to $32.87. Before the
market opened, H-P said it will resume share buybacks and that is
was no longer held "material information" that led it to suspend
its buyback program in August. Reports said that H-P had also ended
talks about acquiring EMC Corp. (EMC).
Apple Inc. (AAPL) was off 15 cents a share at $98.60 ahead of a
company event Thursday that is expected to involve the release of
new iPads and Mac computers.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF), which includes many leading
tech stocks, was down 32 points at 4,195. The Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index (SOX) managed to eke out a small gain.
Follow the broader market action here.
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