By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector edged lower Thursday, as shares of semiconductor
companies retreated following the previous session's gains.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) lost 1.4%, as shares
of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped 2%. The chip giant geared
up for its third-quarter report after the closing bell.
On Wednesday, the sector got a boost from Intel Corp.'s (INTC)
upbeat third-quarter report, which propelled tech shares and the
broader market to hefty gains.
Intel was down a fraction, while other chip companies, including
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) and Marvell Technology (MRVL), saw shares fall
by more than 2%.
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) fell 2.1% after posting a drop in quarterly
profit on Wednesday.
The chip sector losses set the stage for broader declines as the
Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) dipped about 0.5% to 2,162, although
the tech-heavy benchmark was still up more than 1% for the
week.
Two other tech heavyweights -- IBM Corp. and Google Inc. -- will
report results Thursday. IBM (IBM) shares were down 1.4%, while
Google (GOOG) was off 0.8%.
Other major tech players' shares declined, including Dell Inc.
(DELL), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).
Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Adobe Systems (ADBE)
advanced.