By Dow Jones Business News, March 06, 2013, 10:53:00 AM EDT
By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks put in a broad slate of gains Wednesday, advancing along with the broader
market following reaction to the latest figures on private-sector jobs in the U.S.
Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Intel Corp.( INTC ) Hewlett-Packard Co. ( HPQ ), International Business
Machines Corp. ( IBM ) and Cisco Systems Inc. ( CSCO ). The four tech bellwethers' gains added to the Dow Jones Industrial
Average's (DJI) advance, with the index up by 35 points to 14,288.
Also helping give the market a boost were the latest numbers on private-sector jobs from Automatic Data Processing
Inc. The ADP report said the private sector added a better-than-expected 198,000 jobs in February. See: Private-sector
jobs growth beats expectations.
Among other tech stocks, Tibco Software Inc. ( TIBX ) shares rose more than 10%, to $23.12, after Bank of America/
Merrill Lynch analyst Kash Ragan raised his rating on the company to buy from neutral and reiterated his price target of
$26 a share. Ragan said that with Tibco not warning on its quarterly results before the report's March 21 release, the
potential for a negative report has been limited.
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) rose 4.5%, to $5.91, as the online daily deal company continued to gain ground following last-
Thursday's firing of Chief Executive Andrew Mason.
On Tuesday, Groupon Chief Financial Officer Jason Child told a tech conference that the company wasn't planning on any
major changes in strategy as it searches for a new CEO. See: Groupon faces questions about future direction.
Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) was off by almost 1%, at $427.25 a share, after Citigroup cut its estimates and price target on the
stock due to a belief that iPhone and iPad sales are slowing.
Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ) shares were trimmed by 1.3%, to trade at $27.97. On Wednesday, the European Union fined the
software giant $733 million for failing to offer consumers a choice of Web browser other than Microsoft's own Explorer
with new versions of the Windows operating system.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) slipped by 2 points to 3,221, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) eked
its way into positive territory.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-06-131053ET
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