Safety in Tech? You Betcha -- Barron's

Worries about the credit crisis may be permeating markets worldwide, but Barron's says in Silicon Valley there are no signs of crisis. Indeed, the magazine says, technology may be the market's new safe haven. "Quality" stocks like Intel, Cisco and Oracle are trading around 52-week highs while Apple, Google, IBM and Research in Motion are all sporting attractive gains this year. Through Thursday, it notes, the average tech stock fund is up more than 10% (according to Morningstar) versus under 3% for the S&P 500. That's not to say there aren't a few tech duds, such as AMD, Motorola and Yahoo -- as well as any company that may have been touted as an LBO target, given the credit market difficulties. "For the first time in ages, the technology sector is not at the epicenter of the bombshells responsible for shaking global financial markets," Cowen & Co. technology strategist Arnie Berman said last week. While there is cause for concern in those companies with financial services exposure, Berman believes the damages there likely will be much more limited. Particularly susceptible, he said, are Indian IT services companies such as Cognizant, Wipro and Infosys, all of which are down for the year. BEA Systems, Tibco, Chordiant Software, Callidus Software, Advent Software and BearingPoint have also been hurt by perceived exposure. Willing buyers can go for Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Corning and Google, which Cowen's Berman believes have the all-clear signal.

Sources: Barron's
Commentary: Stocks With Significant International Exposure Outperforming S&P 500 At Large • Research in Motion Hits Record on Takeover Rumor
Stocks/ETFs to watch: CSCO, RIMM, MSFT, INTC, IBM, GLW, GOOG, XLK, HHH, AMD, MOT, YHOO, CTSH, WIT, INFY

Comments

[Ralph F:]

I wonder whether large cap tech has done well because the dollar has taken a beating. That would also explain the pressure on the Indian outsourcing companies.

2007 Sep 03 01:29 PM

[Sr. Pessimist:]

Ralph's comment makes sense to me as well. Since the tech industry so easily outsources its manpower, and to exagerate and say the dollar is closing in on the rupee and yuan, the tech brains required for industry stability have got to be domestic. I do think, though, that mobile provides stability for tech more than any other aspect. The dollar can gain against other currencies if mobile locks under it sufficiently. My question is what monopolies other than that of Big Media does mobile tear into?

2007 Sep 03 02:12 PM