TECH STOCKS: Netflix, Amazon Gains Fail To Lift Techs

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks were mostly lower Tuesday, despite gains in shares of Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com

Netflix (NFLX) gained 2% to close at $371.67, while Amazon (AMZN) rose 1.5% to close at $301.19, bucking a downward slide in the sector, which saw the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) shed 0.7% to close at 4,097. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index(MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) were each down a fraction.

After posting gains earlier in the session, shares of Facebook Inc. (FB) slipped 1% to close at $58.56, despite an upbeat note from Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali, who reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock.

One of the factors Squali cited was potential gains from Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service. The company, which Facebook recently acquired for $19 billion, "is a multi-billion dollar opportunity" for the tech giant," he wrote.

"WhatsApp surpassed 500 million users in April with a target of 1 billion plus users before starting to aggressively pursue monetization," he told clients in a note. "Given the communication nature of WhatsApp and its high-value proposition, one could easily see how valuable this platform is."

Google (GOOGL) shares were up a fraction to close at $540.39. But the sector was weighed down by declining shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Cisco Systems.(CSCO). Twitter (TWTR) fell 1% to close at $31.77.

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