TECH STOCKS: Tech Stocks Edge Upward In Early Trading

By Rex Crum

Technology stocks were in a hunt for direction in early trading Wednesday as the sector tried to capitalize on the previous session's gains, and Amazon.com Inc. cut the price of its Kindle e-book reader as part of an effort to spur sales ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 2.5 points to 2,106, while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) edged into positive territory. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slipped into the red.

Amazon (AMZN) shares rose $2.09 to $93 after the online retailer said it was lowering the price of the Kindle to $259 from $299 in the U.S. Amazon also said it would soon begin selling a new version of the Kindle in more than 100 other countries for $279.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) rose 40 cents a share to $23.75 after William Blair analyst Jason Ader raised his rating on the networking equipment maker to outperform from market perform. In a research note, Ader said recent product-channel checks suggest an increase in orders for Cisco over recent weeks.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares rose 19 cents to $190.17. Late Tuesday, AT&T Inc. (T) said it would allow Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] applications to operate on the 3G network that Apple's iPhone runs on.

Other gains came from IBM Corp. (IBM), EMC Corp. (EMC), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM).

Declines came from Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE), which gave up 2 cents to trade at $33.49 after the software maker reaffirmed its fourth-quarter earnings outlook. Adobe expects to earn 23 cents to 29 cents a share on sales between $690 million and $740 million.

Small declines also came from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Dell Inc. (DELL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN)