By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks put in a mostly
negative trading session Wednesday, with losses from Adobe Systems
Inc. standing out on a day highlighted by the latest comments by
Federal Reserve Chairman on the outlook for the U.S. economy.
Adobe (ADBE) shares gave up $2 or more than 6%, to close at
$30.01after the software company's late-Tuesday quarterly report
and outlook. Adobe said its second-quarter earnings rose 54%, but
it gave a third-quarter forecast that potentially fell below Wall
Street analysts' forecasts.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) shares gave up 15 cents to close
at $28.40 after the BlackBerry maker reportedly cut internal
targets for its PlayBook tablet due to poor sales. Partially
offsetting that report, Macquarie Capital analyst Kevin Smithen
started coverage of the company with an outperform rating and
$40-a-share price target. Smithen said RIM's current situation
"creates a buying opportunity for patient value investors."
Losses also came from Dell Inc. (DELL) , Hewlett-Packard Co.
(HPQ) , Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Intel Corp. (INTC)
(INTC)The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 18 points to close
at 2,669, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also retreated.
Much of the day's attention was given to the Federal Reserve's
statement on the economy and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's subsequent
press conference.
Not all tech stocks were in the red. F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV)
rose $1.81 a share, or almost 2%, to $104.81. Barclays analyst Jeff
Kvaal raised his rating on the networking-equipment company to
overweight from neutral and raised his price target on the stock to
$125 a share from $110.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) rose 60 cents a share, or 3%, to $19.45
after the electronics contract manufacturer reported slightly
better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter late
Tuesday.