By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks were mostly
higher Wednesday, highlighted by sharp gains in shares of Riverbed
Technology Inc. after the networking-storage firm raised its
earnings forecast.
Shares of Riverbed (RVBD) jumped more than 17% after also
getting an upgrade to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
"We are impressed by the company's material beat despite
significant concerns related to Japan and U.S. federal markets,"
analyst Rajesh Ghai said in a note.
Oppenheimer also raised its rating on Riverbed to outperform
from perform.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and IBM Corp. (IBM) were among
the top gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. At last check,
the Dow (DJI) was up about 24 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) added 0.5% to 2,757, and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also edged up 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down a
fraction as shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Texas
Instruments Inc. (TXN) slipped.