TECH STOCKS: Tech Stocks Post Gains With H-P Earnings On Tap

By Rex Crum

Much of the tech sector rose Tuesday, with Hewlett-Packard Co. among the advancers as the world's largest technology company is set to deliver its second-quarter earnings report after the market close.

H-P (HPQ) shares rose 53 cents to $48.02 to lead a slate of gainers that included Apple Inc. (AAPL), IBM Corp. (IBM), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).

Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimate H-P will earn $1.06 a share on $29.86 billion in sales for its fiscal second quarter.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) added to its Monday gains by rising more than 12 points to 2,366. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index(MSH) edged upward, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) slipped into the red.

Other gains came from RightNow Technologies Inc. (RNOW), which rose 86 cents a share, or 5.6%, to $16.26 after FBR Capital Markets analyst David Hilal raised his rating on the software company to outperform from market perform. Hilal said that he expects RightNow to get more deals involving contact centers for businesses' customer service operations and sign more bookings in the coming months.

Decliners included EMC Corp. (EMC), Seagate Technology (STX) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO).

QAD Inc. (QADI) shares fell 44 cents, or almost 8%, to $5.27 after the maker of software for manufacturers gave a weaker-than-expected quarterly forecast. The company now expects to lose 4 cents to 5 cents a share on $50 million to $51 million in sales, down from earlier estimates of a profit of 3 cents a share on $54 million in revenue.