Oracle got serious about acquiring rival PeopleSoft on Wednesday, but investors reacted to the new offer with skepticism.
Oracle sweetened its offer for PeopleSoft to $26 a share, the first increase since it raised its offer to $19.50 last June.
PeopleSoft gained 4% on the news, but at $23 a share, the stock remains well below Oracle's offer price. With staunch opposition to the takeover at PeopleSoft, investors are making clear they are skeptical that a deal will happen.
Tech stocks fell sharply Wednesday on results from Cisco that beat analysts' estimates, but weren't quite the blow-out quarter investors were hoping for. Cisco tumbled 9% on the day.
The Nasdaq plunged 52 to 2014, the S&P 500 lost 9 to 1126, and the Dow fell 34 to 10,470. Volume rose to 1.62 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.27 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 23-8 on the NYSE, and 24-7 on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 73% on the NYSE, and 86% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 91-12 on the NYSE, and 111-10 on the Nasdaq. Aberdeen Group: Market Perspectives & Strategies::
Oracle Gets Serious About Apps. Perspective, January 23, 2003 Oracle Outsourcing: Will the Third Time Around Be the Charm for Managed Services
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After the close, Akamai and Roxio beat estimates.
During the day, Ciena plunged 18% on a warning.
WebEx soared 18% after beating estimates and raised guidance, while Sina and United Online fell despite better than expected results.
HP lost 3% on news of two acquisitions.
McData lost 5% on worries about storage switch competition from Cisco.
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 Technical Analysis: Oversold
 Oracle Offers $9.4 Billion for PeopleSoft
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