By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks reclaimed lost
ground to post modest gains on Tuesday, overcoming the downward
pull of Apple Inc. shares, as investors reacted to news that Steve
Jobs, the company's iconic chief executive, is going on another
medical leave.
Shares of Apple (AAPL) fell 1.4% to $343.62 in heavy trading,
amid the leadership uncertainty at the Silicon Valley giant.
"While Steve Jobs's health has been a constant concern for
investors, given previous issues and his importance to the company,
we believe this announcement will still come as a negative surprise
given it is the second leave in just two years, and this time there
doesn't appear to be a date set that he expects to be back," wrote
Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes in a note.
But the sector got a boost from two major players, Google Inc.
(GOOG) and Symantec Corp. (SYMC)
Shares of Google Inc. gained 2.4% to $639.06 in heavy trading.
Gleacher & Co. analyst Brian Marshall speculated that the
market sees Apple's woes as a potential gain for Google in the tech
giants' stiffening rivalry in the smartphone arena.
"I think it's a possible reaction to what's going on," he said
in an phone interview.
Symantec shares also traded heavily as the stock jumped more
than 4%, as the stock was upgraded to buy from hold by Deutsche
Bank.
Those gains helped lift the sector, as the Nasdaq Composite
Index (RIXF) rose 0.2% to 2,760. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35
Index (MSH) was flat, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
(SOX) was down 0.7%.
Meanwhile, shares of Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) fell 1.8% as the Internet
giant's stock was downgraded to equal weight from overweight by
Morgan Stanley.
Chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) also saw its shares fall 2.7% as
BMO cut its rating on the stock to market perform from
outperform.
Other major tech shares joined in the decline, including Applied
Materials Inc. (AMAT) and Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR).
Advancers included Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN)