By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks began the week on a
downbeat note Monday, with Amazon.com Inc. and Dell Inc. among the
sector leaders slipping into the red.
Amazon (AMZN) shed 1.3%, or $4 a share, to trade at $307.99. The
online-retailing giant said it would hire at least 5,000 new
full-time workers at its network of distribution centers across the
U.S. Amazon has been increasing its expenses to add to its
distribution network in an effort to keep up with growing demand.
During the company's second quarter, it reported a 22% increase in
revenue, to $15.7 billion.
Dell (DELL) shares slipped by 1.4%, to $12.77. On Monday,
activist investor Carl Icahn sent a letter to Dell shareholders
rebutting comments the PC maker's chief executive, Michael Dell,
made about voter turnout at the company's August special meeting,
as part of his attempt to take the PC giant private.
Losses took the lead early, with social-media related stocks
showing some of the day's larger losses.
Angie's List Inc. (ANGI) was down by 6% at $22.99. The online
professional-services recommendation and referral company has
fallen more than 13% since reporting mixed quarterly results on
July 24.
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) was off by 3.7%, Yelp Inc. (YELP) shares
shed 3.6% and LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) gave up almost 3%, to trade at
$202.67 a share.
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) shares fell almost 4% to $5.30.
Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis cut his rating on RF Micro to equal
weight from overweight due to some uncertainty in semiconductors in
the mobile-device market.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 16 points to 3,609, while
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the Morgan Stanley
High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also slipped into the red.
A few big-name companies managed to rise, with Facebook Inc.
(FB) up 2.5% at $34.86, as well as Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc.
(GOOG) and Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) posting small gains.
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