Techs Give Back Gains

An early rally in the tech sector gave way to selling Thursday after a Federal Reserve official hinted at higher interest rates.

Stocks started higher for a second day on carryover buying from Cisco Systems’ solid results late Tuesday, and strong earnings reports from Best Buy and Aetna also brightened the mood.

But comments from Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow that further tightening may be necessary gave traders reason to take profits, and the Nasdaq turned a nearly 1% gain into a 0.5% loss.

The Nasdaq lost 11 to 2255, the S&P 500 lost 2 to 1263, and the Dow gained 24 to 10,883. Volume declined to 2.37 billion shares on the NYSE, but rose to 2.36 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 16-15 on the NYSE, but decliners held a 16-13 edge on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 46% on the NYSE, and 52% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 131-16 on the NYSE, and 159-30 on the Nasdaq.

After the close, Oracle appeared to issue mixed guidance, with revenues above consensus estimates and earnings per share below forecasts. The company also said it plans to cut 2,000 jobs as part of its acquisition of Siebel. McAfee beat lowered expectations.

During the day, Akamai , Sonic Solutions and Amkor jumped 18% each on their results.

Research in Motion edged higher after the company said it had developed a workaround for the patents at issue in its long-running dispute with NTP.

Agilysys fell 23% on its results.