Tag - Emc

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow lost ground as news of a strike at General Motors weighed heavy on investors’ minds. The small-cap index fell 7.31 points, or 0.90%, to 805.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) dropped 61.13 points, or 0.44%, to 13,759.06.

Workers at General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) took to the street today as the automaker failed to reach a labor agreement with the United Auto Workers.

The nationwide strike is the first in more than 30 years at the Detroit-based company and comes at a time when the troubled GM is trying to cut costs and raise its head above water after two years of steep losses.

The dispute revolves around GM’s need to reduce labor and health-care costs and the UAW’s focus on protecting the benefits of 73,000 members who work at the company’s U.S. production facilities. Union leaders declared a willingness to continue negotiations and most observers expect the dispute to be resolved quickly.

News of the strike emboldened the bears and scared away the bulls.

Otherwise, the day began with futures pointing up and stocks poised to rise following news that tech sector heavyweights have received analyst upgrades.

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.