Exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the tech sector were slightly up Wednesday, with Hewlett-Packard (NasdaqGS: HPQ) and Oracle Corp. (NasdaqGS: ORCL) leading tech sector gains.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) was up 0.55% at last check.
Hewlett-Packard’s board will be meeting to consider replacing current CEO Leo Apothekar of less than 11 months with former eBay Inc (NasdaqGS: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman, report Aaron Ricadela and Carol Hymowitz for Bloomberg.
HP shares were up 10.95% at last check.
Under Apothekar’s care, HP sales forecasts were cut three times and company shares plummeted 47%, Toni Sacconaghi, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a research note.
Investors became increasingly alarmed after HP’s $10.3 billion acquisition of Autonomy Corp. and a possible spinoff of HP’s personal computer division, commenting on the high price tag of the acquisition and the premature spinoff bid, according to Sacconaghi.