Technology stocks fell during Wednesday trading, with the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF declining 2.1% while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also slipped 1.7%.
In company news, Zoom Video Communications (ZM) still was nearly 1% higher, earlier rising 2.3% to a new record high of $258.75 a share after the video chat platform company named a security expert with prior stints at Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT) as its new chief information security officer. Jason Lee joins Zoom from Salesforce where he most recently was senior vice president for security operations and previous was the principal director of security engineering at Microsoft.
Dell Technologies (DELL) rose 8% on Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said the computer hardware company was considering various options, including the spinoff of its 81% stake in VMWare (VMW). The stock also was finding support after Wells Fargo raised its price target by $13 to $70 a share and also reiterated its overweight rating for the company’s stock. VMWare shares were 2.1% higher.
Color Star Technology (HHT) climbed over 23% higher after its Color China Entertainment subsidiary signed a strategic agreement with Mixx Lifestyle Inc to set up Maxx’s first offline learning site and live music venue in mid-town Manhattan. Color China will provide all necessary performance equipment to support the new partnership.
To the downside, Apple (AAPL) slid about 1.5% after Politico reported the tech giant could be the subject of an antitrust probe by the US Department of Justice and the attorneys general in several states into its App Store policies following complaints from Apple products competitors and other companies. Apple also acquired privately held software firm Fleetsmith for an undisclosed amount, according to a Wednesday post on the Fleetsmith blog.
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