By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks were rising Tuesday,
with Apple Inc. among the sector leaders as speculation begins to
grow about what the company has planned for the next version of the
iPhone.
Apple (AAPL) was up by 61 cents a share, at $91.46, following
reports that said the company is set to begin production of the
so-called iPhone 6 in China next month. The newest version of
Apple's smartphone will reportedly come out in two models, with
screen sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, and will ship in
September. If such reports end up being true, the next release
would fall in line with Apple's historical pattern of introducing a
new iPhone in time for the annual Christmas and holiday shopping
seasons.
If Apple does increase the size of its iPhone screens, it would
add to the arms race that has developed around bigger screens for
smartphones. Apple rivals such as Samsung and HTC have released
phones with screens of up to 5.7 inches, and last week, Amazon.com
Inc. (AMZN) unveiled its Fire phone with a 4.7-inch screen.
Groupon (GRPN) added to its prior-day's gains by rising more
than 9% to $7.08 a share. On Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene
Munster said recent checks show Groupon has increased the number of
deals available on its site, and is taking more steps in its
turnaround to become more of a destination for e-commerce
consumers.
Munster said Groupon has increased the number of deals on its
network to 200,000 from about 140,000 at the end of 2013, and he
expects the company to reach 500,000 deals within three to four
years.
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) rose 4.5% to $32.67 a share after
the memory chipmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly
results late Monday.
Online radio company Pandora Media Inc. (P) was up by 4% at
$29.32 a share. Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Graham said that
recent meetings with Pandora have given him "renewed confidence in
Pandora's ability to exceed our revenue targets over time."
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) climbed by 28
points to 4,396 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose
0.5%.
More must-read news from MarketWatch:
Five IPOs overshadowed by Alibaba
Yahoo's Mayer sleeps in past big Cannes ad event
What industries milliennials are destroying
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires