Tech stocks retreat broadly; Oracle bucks trend
Tech stocks retreat broadly; Oracle bucks trendTech stocks slump
Oracle bucks trend to rally on Q1 earnings report
By Michael Paige, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:28 AM ET Sept. 15, 2004
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LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Technology stocks broadly fell into the red Wednesday amid downbeat analyst comment and a broader market slump, although Oracle bucked the trend to move sharply higher after its overnight earnings report.
In recent morning trading, the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ: news, chart, profile) lost around 1 percent to 1,897.10. The Nasdaq 100 Index of leading nonfinancial stocks ($NDX: news, chart, profile) fell 1.2 percent to 1,417.63.
Oracle (ORCL: news, chart, profile) was a standout, rising into the plus column after the corporate software giant narrowly beat expectations on Wall Street with its quarterly earnings report late Tuesday. The company posted a rise in sales and earnings for its fiscal first quarter, as strength in its database business helped offset weakness in its applications segment. See full story.
Oracle shares jumped 75 cents, or over 7 percent, to $11.30.
PeopleSoft (PSFT: news, chart, profile), the target of Oracle's $21-per-share hostile bid, gained 12 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $19.69.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund downgraded the software sector to "neutral" from "attractive" based on a "tougher" outlook for next year.
A survey by Sherlund's firm shows a "significant downtick" in IT spending plans for the rest of the year and 2005, compared with the firm's earlier polls, he said.
The analyst said he continues to favor larger companies in the software sector that are benefiting from market consolidation, like Germany's SAP and Microsoft.
Sherlund also pointed to Symantec and Mercury Interactive as "well positioned vendors in faster growth segments."
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