The Night Watch: Oracle Pulls Back on Weak Forecast

Updated from 5:47 p.m. EDT

Software giant Oracle (ORCL) posted a solid fourth quarter, and investors initially cheered the numbers and sent the company's shares higher after the close. Then came the outlook.

The company, whose shares rose more than 10% following the release of its quarterly results, warned that the first quarter will likely be below expectations. Lately shares of Oracle were up only 1.7% to $9.36.

Oracle's forecast combined with warnings from Apple (AAPL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to paint a grim picture for the tech sector, at least for the near term.

Oracle's quarterly report was on the schedule, but shortfalls from Apple and AMD weren't. Apple said its earnings and revenue for the fiscal third quarter would be weaker than expected, largely because of weak demand at the consumer level. The PC maker's shares were down 9.2% to $18.30.

Meanwhile, chipmaker AMD slashed its second-quarter forecast, saying the top line would come in well short of expectations, leading to a "substantial" operating loss. AMD was losing 13.6% to $8.90 and was one of the extra session's biggest percentage losers.

Intel (INTC), AMD's bigger rival, was off 3.5% to $21.25. Intel had its own announcement after the close, saying it would take a $100 million charge to exit the Web hosting business.

Contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit (JBL) was one of the big winners in extended trading on the heels of its quarterly report. Jabil said it earned 12 cents a share on revenue of $851 million in the latest third quarter, and the company's shares climbed 9.7% to $21. Another electronics manufacturer, Flextronics (FLEX), was tacking on 2.1%.

Networker Ciena (CIEN) was getting hit hard, falling 8% to $4.05 after the company said its third-quarter revenue would likely suffer from the continuing slowdown in the telecom sector. Ciena also said shareholders approved the company's proposed merger with ONI Systems (ONIS).

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