By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Weak sales data on PCs in the
fourth quarter weighed down the tech sector in early trades Friday,
as Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett-Packard all saw selling
pressure.
Dell (DELL) felt the greatest sting, with its shares down 1.7%
to $10.85. Data released by IDC late Thursday reported that global
PC sales fell by 6.4% for the fourth quarter -- worse than the drop
the firm had predicted earlier. Dell saw its global market share
slip to 10.6% from 12.5% in the same period the previous year.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) managed to pick up some market share
during the period to end the year in the top position, globally.
But the tech giant's shares still fell 1.6% to $16 in early Friday
trades. Microsoft (MSFT) shares were flat at last check.
The Nasdaq (RIXF) was down about 0.2% to about 3,115, while the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) saw a fractional drop and
the Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index (MSH) was flat.
Losses by PC makers were offset by gains in other categories.
Facebook (FB) was up 1.5% to $31.78. The social network was named
as the "top pick" among large-cap Internet stocks for 2013 in a
note by J.P. Morgan.
"We believe it's still very early in Facebook's mobile
advertising trajectory, and marketer feedback on mobile and News
Feed ads is now more positive," J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth
wrote in his note to clients.
Splunk (SPLK) shares jumped 4.7% to $31.19. The web site
theflyonthewall.com reported that the stock was seeing "renewed
takeover chatter."
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires