A cautious outlook from Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) weighed on the tech sector Tuesday, as the Nasdaq lagged its blue chip counterparts for a second day.
TI said its second-quarter sales could top Thomson Financial’s consensus forecast of $3.37 billion, a plus after two straight disappointments from the company.
But the company’s comment that wireless handset sales are weaker than expected weighed on its shares and wireless firms like Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC).
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) recouped 2% a day after unveiling its new 3G iPhone. Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) fell 5.6% on worries about GPS competition from Apple, and Synchronoss (NASDAQ: SNCR) tumbled 17% after restating that its account activation technology won’t be used in retail 3G iPhone sales.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) lost 6% on an FTN Midwest downgrade.
CMGI (NASDAQ: CMGI) tumbled 25% on its results.
The broader market was restrained by more hawkish comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke that suggested that rate hikes may be coming.
The Nasdaq lost 10 to 2449, the S&P fell 3 to 1358, and the Dow added 9 to 12,289. Volume rose to 4.57 billion shares on the NYSE, and declined to 2.08 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led by a 22-11 margin on the NYSE, and 16-12 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 57% on the NYSE, and 69% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 38-198 on the NYSE, and 35-201 on the Nasdaq.