By Benjamin Pimentel
The technology sector traded slightly higher Thursday, powered
by gains in shares of Internet giants Yahoo Inc. and eBay Inc.
Yahoo (YHOO) moved up 4.3%. On Wednesday, the company scored an
upgrade to buy from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, which told
clients: "We believe that Yahoo is still a growth company which is
now trading like a long-term secular decliner."
Shares of eBay (YHOO) also gained, up more than 3%.
But those gains weren't enough to keep the sector solidly in
positive territory, as the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) struggled
to hang on to a slight gain. The tech-heavy benchmark was up 0.4%
at 2,068 at last check.
Also higher, the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was
ahead 0.8%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was up
0.5%.
Shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) were down slightly. On
Wednesday, the chip giant raised its revenue and earnings outlook
for the third quarter.
Intel Corp. (INTC) also traded down 1.2%, while Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) was ahead 1.5%.
Other major tech players posted gains, including Amazon.com
(AMZN), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).