Monday was a mixed day for the markets, but a pretty big day for tech.
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) made the biggest noise Monday, shooting up more than 12% on unconfirmed reports that the computer maker was talking to private-equity firms about a possible deal. No names were named in any of the reports, but several banks have been notified of the move, Bloomberg says.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) continued its long-running downward trend and briefly dipped below $500 following reports that the company cut orders for iPhone 5 components thanks to weak demand. Apple shares fell just less than 4% by day’s end.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) was the Dow Jones‘ top gainer, rising 4% amid news that it was the top maker of personal computers in 2012 — and not Lenovo (PINK:LNVGF), which reportedly had taken the top spot in Q3 last year.
Last but not least, Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) jumped another 10% Monday, putting RIMM shares at 90% gains in the past few months as suspense builds over this month’s launch of BlackBerry 10.
At the end of the day, the Dow was ahead 0.14% to finish at 13,507.32, the Nasdaq declined 0.26% to 3,117.50 and the S&P 500 slid fractionally to 1,470.68.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, UPS (NYSE:UPS) announced it is scrapping plans for a $6.8 billion merger with smaller dutch delivery company TNT Express (PINK:TNTEY). UPS blamed the European Commission’s antitrust regulators for ruining the deal; still, UPS shares rose just less than 2% Monday.
Swiss watchmaker Swatch (PINK:SWGAY) is buying Hollywood’s go-to jeweler, Harry Winston. Shares of the jewelry company’s parent company, Harry Winston Diamond (NYSE:HWD) — which will change its name after the sale — rose more than 4% while Swatch moved ahead by more than 3%.
Lastly, Fifth & Pacific (NYSE:FNP) — which includes Lucky and Kate Spade brands — gained more than 11% despite reporting a 2% decline in Juicy Couture same-store sales and providing disappointing earnings guidance.
Three Up
- Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO): Up 9.6% ($2.39) to $27.22.
- Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD): UP 8.9% ($3.65) to $44.60.
- Radioshack (NYSE:RSH): Up 4.1% (9 cents) to $2.31.
Three Down
- Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS): Down 9.4% ($2.96) to $28.62.
- Green Mountain Coffee (NASDAQ:GMCR): Down 4.6% ($1.89) to $39.34.
- Francesca’s (NASDAQ:FRAN): Down 3.6% ($1.01) to $27.22.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he is long AAPL.
