Tech Winners & Losers: Level 3

A downgrade to sell takes shares lower.
By Ivy Lessner ,

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Nasdaq led the major indices higher Tuesday, as investors reacted to a mix of economic reports. The market initially perked up on a Commerce Department report of an unexpected rise in home sales for April -- the first increase in six months. But the Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed a 14.1% year-over-year drop during the first quarter.

Level 3 Communications

(LVLT)

was down 19 cents, or 5.4%, to $3.30, after Standard & Poor's reduced its rating to sell. The stock gave back half of an 11% gain it made on an analyst upgrade Thursday, when it closed at $3.50.

German chipmaker

Infineon Technology

( IFX) fell 45 cents, or 4.5%, to $9.53 on news that CEO Wolfgang Ziebart had stepped down Monday. The departure is spurring talk of a merger with

NXP Semiconductors

.

Palm

( PALM) was up 13 cents, or 2.3%, to $5.77, despite a reported downgrade to sell by S&P.

Marvell Technology

(MRVL) - Get Report

fell 42 cents, or 2.9%, to $14.02 on a ratings cut to neutral by Goldman Sachs.

China Mobile

(CHL) - Get Report

was down $4.76, or 6.1%, to $73.58 on news that China is shaking up its telecom sector.

The Wall Street Journal

reported that China will merge six state-owned telecoms into three carriers offering wireless and fixed-line service. The move is expected to create at least two strong competitors to China Mobile.

Other notable tech movers: On-demand software provider

NetSuite

(N)

was up $1.40, or 7.3%, to $20.71, and

Apple

(AAPL) - Get Report

advanced $3.69, or 2%, to $184.86.

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