Sector movers: ARM, Spirent drag down tech sector

20th Apr 2012 14:57

Technology hardware and equipment stocks were the heaviest fallers on Friday with chip designer ARM Holdings providing a drag.The stock was among the worst performers on the FTSE 100 index in the afternoon, down 3.29% ahead of a trading update next week.Jefferies raised its target price for the stock today from 466p to 485p but maintained its underperform rating, saying that sentiment still remains weak."ARM is about to exit a no-new-news-phase with heavy reliance on Windows on ARM (WoA) and Mali graphics royalties into 2H12 - neither can materially lift fundamentals from here and the former may yet have sentiment tailwinds," the broker said. "The server SoCs story will grow this year but given this is a mid-decade promise, things still look stretched for now." Meanwhile, FTSE 250 constituent Spirent Communications was trading lower after entering into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Mu Dynamics, a security testing firm based in California, for $40m.Mu specialises in developing security solutions that enable faster, higher quality deployments of Cloud applications and applications-aware networks. "This acquisition aligns with our strategy of delivering profitable growth through expanding our capabilities in growing and emerging technology markets," Spirent's Chief Executive Officer, Bill Burns, said. Shares were down 0.36% by 15:02. Top performing sectors so far todayOil Equipment, Services & Distribution 27,012.04 +1.85%Mining 20,768.70 +1.56%Industrial Metals & Mining 3,943.43 +1.50%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,033.74 +1.00%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9,897.27 +0.98%Bottom performing sectors so far todayTechnology Hardware & Equipment 798.74 -2.55%Household Goods & Home Construction 7,181.46 -1.51%Industrial Engineering 7,786.97 -1.43%Personal Goods 22,745.91 -1.27%Electronic & Electrical Equipment 3,466.21 -0.68%BC