TECH STOCKS: H-P, JD.com Rally; Twitter, Microsoft Fall

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)--Technology stocks were mostly higher Thursday, propelled by gains in shares of Hewlett-Packard and JD.com, which made a successful public trading debut.

H-P (HPQ) was up 1.5% ahead of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's quarterly report due after the closing bell. JD.com (JD) also was up 9% as the Chinese online retailer began trading on the Nasdaq.

The double play set the tone for a generally upbeat trading session which saw the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rise 0.6% to 4,157. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index were up a fraction.

Facebook (FB) was up 1% after Evercore Partners raised its rating for the social network to overweight.

On the downside, shares of Twitter (TWTR) slipped 1.3%, while Microsoft (MSFT) was down nearly 1%. Microsoft was the worst performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI), which was up 21 points.

Also in the red were shares of Intel Corp. (INTC), Apple Inc.(AAPL) and Cisco Systems (CSCO).

Other must-read stories from MarketWatch:

H-P earnings: Analysts eye turnaround signs

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JD.com IPO a hit, seen as proxy for Alibaba

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