Russell 2000 opens flat
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow (INDU) are trading near the flat line following news of upgrades in the tech sector.
At 10:00 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had lost 2.67 points, or 0.33%, to 810.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.78 points, or 0.06%, to 13,811.41.
With little coming out on the economic front, investors are taking a cue from analysts’ upgrades of major tech sector players.
Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) are rising after Citi Investment Research, the research arm of financial services giant Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), raised its target price. Citi cited lower cost estimates and an upbeat outlook for upcoming product launches.
Mobile device maker Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is looking good after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company to “outperform” from “sector perform.”
Adding to the upbeat news from the tech sector, EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) a maker of data-storage computers and software, was upgraded by both Citigroup and Bear, Stearns & Co. (NYSE: BSC).
Elsewhere, shares of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) are looking up due to speculation that the Detroit-based automaker will be able to reach a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers and avoid a strike by the union’s 73,000 members.
