Sector movers: Sage cheers software sector

28th Jul 2009 09:54

Software giant Sage gives the whole sector a lift after it said results for the year ended 30 September 2009 are in-line with market expectations but warned that markets remain testing.The group said market conditions in the quarter ended 30 June 2009 have remained challenging but largely unchanged.Subscription revenues continue to show solid growth and the cost base has been successfully reduced to address the slowdown in the market for software and software-related services.Two stocks are helping drag the technology hardware and equipment sector lower. Tough times in the semiconductor business sent both revenue and profits tumbling at chip designer ARM over the past three months, though it increased the interim dividend by 10%. The shares are down nearly 5%.Semiconductor group Wolfson is lower after a mixed update. The firm cut losses in the last three months as sales picked up, but end-consumer demand visibility continues to be poor and order patterns volatile, it cautioned.Top performing sectors so far todayBanks 4,312.59 +1.33%Fixed Line Telecommunications 1,712.14 +0.93%Industrial Transportation 1,639.04 +0.91%Software & Computer Services 481.98 +0.90%Real Estate 1,643.02 +0.77%Bottom performing sectors so far todayTechnology Hardware & Equipment 267.60 -2.19%Mobile Telecommunications 2,728.71 -1.28%Personal Goods 8,187.63 -1.21%General Industrials 1,726.61 -1.10%Forestry & Paper 2,725.15 -0.98%