TECH STOCKS: Microsoft, Cisco Lead Tech Sector Retreat

By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks retreated Friday, weighed down by sliding shares of Microsoft Corp and Cisco Systems. Google's newly split stocks also declined.

Microsoft (MSFT) was down 2.7% at $39.92, the worst performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI), which was off 46 points. Cisco(CSCO), also was weighing on the Dow. The stock shed 1.6% to $22.72.

Shares of Micron Technology (MU), which rose a day after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates, turned negative, recently down 3%.

Newly split Google stocks were in the red after posting gains on their first day of trading on Thursday. The Class A Google shares (GOOGL) were down 3.4%, while the nonvoting Class C shares (GOOG) were off 3.5%.

On the upside, shares of GrubHub (GRUB), the online food delivery company, jumped 40% as the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The session began on an upbeat note for Micron as executives at the Boise, Idaho-based chip company painted an upbeat picture of the memory-chip market and reported a sharp gain in sales.

"We've seen pretty good demand signals on the memory side," Micron President Mark Adams said. "We feel pretty bullish for the memory market for consumer and client devices," he added, as he also pointed to strong demand in the server and networking market.

Micron has been going through a transition following its acquisition of another memory chip company, Elipida, which was widely expected to strengthen its market position, and a fire that damaged the plant of rival Hynix, which limited supply of DRAM chips.

On the call with analysts on Thursday, Adams said the DRAM market "has normalized following the recovery of one of our competitor's fabs in China." Still, he added, "DRAM market conditions remain favorable. And inventories in the channel remain relatively tight below normal levels."

Topeka Capital analyst Suji De Silva raised his price target for the stock to $27 from $25. "With healthy supply-demand balance and pricing, Micron margins improved and we expect the company to sustain these higher margin levels going forward," he told clients.

"We also believe Micron demand is firming across multiple end markets, supported by the company's product development efforts," he added.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 2% to 4,154. The benchmark was on track to end the week down a fraction. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) were each down about 2%.

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