If the credit crunch that has roiled global financial markets for six months is having any effect on technology spending, Oracle and Research in Motion certainly aren’t showing it.
Oracle shares jumped 6.5% on better than expected results, leading the Nasdaq to a 1.5% gain on Thursday. After the close, Research in Motion did even better, surging 9% after topping forecasts and raising guidance — and that jump came on top of a 5% gain ahead of its results. RIM’s subscriber growth was a little light, but the company’s results reassured investors that the company can hold its own in the face of growing competition from the likes of Apple’s iPhone.
RIM wasn’t the only winner in Thursday’s after-hours trading session. Red Hat shares gained 6% on 28% sales growth and a new CEO. But Micron shares slipped 3% on results that showed that chip pricing remains tough, and Jabil fell 10% on a lower than expected outlook.
The solid tech sector results came even as the credit crisis spread to bond insurers, which could have wide-ranging effects, and brokers like Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley posted the first quarterly losses in their roughly eight decades of operation.
Accenture was another big gainer in Thursday’s regular trading session, up 6.5% on strong results. Smart Modular soared 22% on its earnings report.
NetSuite had a stellar IPO, up 36%. Salesforce.com was up 8% on the day.
Google gained 1.8% after its acquisition of DoubleClick was approved by the FTC.
EBay was up 5.4% on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.
The Nasdaq gained 39 to 2640, the S&P rose 7 to 1460, and the Dow climbed 38 to 13,245. Volume rose to 3.53 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.03 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by an 18-14 margin on the NYSE, and 19-11 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 54% on the NYSE, and 76% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 47-324 on the NYSE, and 73-264 on the Nasdaq.
