TECH STOCKS: Microsoft Gains Stand Out As Techs Advance

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks largely put in a strong trading performance Thursday, with Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. among the advancers as investors were optimistic following the latest data on consumer spending and initial jobless claims.

Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose 27 cents to $34.62, a day after Chief Executive Steve Ballmer kicked off the company's Build developers conference in San Francisco. Ballmer used his keynote presentation to describe Microsoft's new "rapid release" approach to updating its Windows operating system and working with developers, while analysts on gave a qualified nod to the company's efforts.

Yahoo (YHOO) gave back some of its gains, but still rose 18 cents to $25.47. Gains also came from Facebook Inc. (FB), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and IBM Corp. (IBM).

Seagate Technology (STX) shares rose 4.7% to $44.69 after Longbow Research analyst Joseph Wittine raised his rating on the hard disk-drive maker to buy from neutral. Seagate's top rival, Western Digital Corp. (WDC), rose 3.2%.

Technology-products supplier CDW Corp. (CDW) climbed 8% to $18.37 as the company held its IPO. CDW sold 23.3 million shares at $17 each after lowering its target price to $17 to $18 a share.

The tech-sector gains helped lift the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) by almost 25 points to close at 3,401. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) also closed with a small gain.

Helping spur investor sentiment were the data on initial unemployment-insurance claims for May, as well as the Commerce Department saying that consumer spending also went up last month.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares shed 1% to close at $393.78 despite Susquehanna analyst Chris Caso cutting his price target on the company's stock to $440 a share from $480

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) ended the day down by 3.7% at $36.60 after the payroll and human resource-software and services company reported weaker-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.

Tremor Video Inc. (TRMR) shares fell 15% to close at $8.50, as the video-advertising software company made its public debut. Tremor priced 7.5 million at $10 each, which was below the expected IPO range of $11 to $13 a share.

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