Rally Seen In Technology Stocks; Video Gamers Ready To Hog The Spotlight

The technology sector is in the black today, with the sector’s major stocks trading high. Video games makers are geared for action as the annual E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo is ready to roll. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose almost 27.92 points, or 1.24%, to 2,272. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was up 2.3% and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) added 1.08% by 12:29 pm. Before the start of the E3 show, THQ Inc THQI announced a depressing news today by cutting its fiscal Q1 and full-year guidance. The company cited lower-than-expected sales of THQI’s UFC Undisputed 2010 and strengthening US dollar. The video games maker now expects a loss of $0.30-$0.20 a share on revenue of $155.0-$165.0 million for Q1 ending June 30, 2010. Earlier, the company had expected to breakeven, while generating revenue of $190-$200 million. The company added that it now expects to breakeven in fiscal 2011, when it will generate $845.0-$865.0 million revenue. This forecast was also down from its previous guidance of $0.25-$0.30 of earnings per share on revenue of $905.0-$920.0 million. By 12:23 pm, THQI shares plunged 8.47% to $5.08. Other video games makers remained mixed, with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO slipping 1.82%, Electronic Arts Inc ERTS climbing 0.86% and Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI up 2.16%. Tech stocks that led the gains include Apple AAPL, which rose 1.9%, Google Inc GOOG, which climbed 0.22%, Dell Inc DELL, which jumped 1.67%, Intel Corp INTC, which rallied 1.94% and Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ, which moved up 0.7%. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.