TECH STOCKS: Apple, Chips Weigh On Techs; Groupon Rallies

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Apple and semiconductor companies slipped, weighing down the tech sector Friday, even as Groupon and Hewlett-Packard rallied.

Apple (AAPL) shed 0.5% to close at $520.03 as the company's new iPad Air hit the stores. Chip stocks also retreated, led by Intel Corp.(INTC), Texas Instruments (TXN), Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) and SanDisk (SNDK).

On the upside, H-P (HPQ) rose 6.4% to close at $25.92, while Groupon (GRPN) jumped 8.7% to close at $9.93.

Groupon unveiled a revamped website in a bid to transition from being mainly an online daily deals site to an online market place. The company also introduced updated versions of its smartphone apps.

Shares of Facebook (FB) surrendered earlier gains, slipping nearly 1% to close at $49.75, as the stock remained volatile following its third-quarter report on Wednesday. Facebook blew past Wall Street estimates, but then rattled investors with comments about signs of declining teen usage and its plan not to ramp up newsfeed ads.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) eked out a 0.1% gain to close at 3,922. The benchmark ended the week down 0.5%. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was also up a fraction, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index(SOX) fell 0.3%.

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