By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector sank into the red Tuesday morning as shares of
Dell Inc. tumbled after the computing giant said it expects
slightly lower gross margin.
Dell's (DELL) shares fell more than 7% after the company
forecast a decline in second-quarter gross margins.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 0.4% to 1,786, while the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down 0.5%.
The tech sector got a boost from semiconductor shares, as the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 0.6% on gains from
shares of Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) and Nvidia Corp.
(NVDA).
Intel Corp. (INTC) was mostly flat. The chip giant is scheduled
to report second-quarter results after the closing bell, with
analysts anticipating signs of a stabilizing market.
Meanwhile, losses from other major tech players took their toll
on the sector.
Tech bellwethers Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) were both down more than 1%. Amazon.com
(AMZN), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) were also in the
red.