Tech Stocks Bounce Back

Also on the Dow, Citigroup (C Quote) ended down after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to sell from buy, cutting its stock price target to $44 from $60 a share.

The downgrade comes a day after Citigroup said it will marry its investment banking and alternative-investment operations into a single business. Citigroup shed 45 cents, or 0.9%, to $47.87.

Among other analyst actions, Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Apple (AAPL Quote) to $180 from $150, and Oppenheimer was the latest to bump its price target for Google (GOOG Quote) higher. The firm raised its target to $700 from $625.

Shares of Apple advanced $5.02, or 3.1%, to $167.25, reversing the previous session's decline. Google shares ended up $15.39, or 2.5%, to $637.39.

Tech stocks were also bolstered by news that software giant Oracle (ORCL Quote) offered to acquire BEA Systems (BEAS Quote) for $6.7 billion, or $17 a share. The bid represents a 25% premium to BEA's closing price Thursday.

Shares of BEA surged 38% to $18.82, after the company said the offer is too low, suggesting investors are betting on a better price.

The housing sector was under pressure after Wachovia lowered 2007 and 2008 earnings estimates for 13 homebuilders, noting escalating cancellation rates and ineffective promotions. Among those cut were Centex (CTX Quote), Beazer Homes (BZH Quote), Lennar (LEN Quote), Toll Brothers (TOL Quote), Hovnanian (HOV Quote), and D.R. Horton (DHI Quote).