Tech Stocks Up On Rate Views - Tech Roundup

Shares of tech companies rose as traders bet the sector would benefit from a pause in Federal Reserve rate hikes. Fears about speculative positions in the tech sector could be mitigated by a longer period of low interest rates, as speculative trading is often funded by low-rate "margin" loans. Alphabet's Google won a reprieve when a Paris court threw out a 1.11 billion euro ($1.27 billion) bill that France's tax authority has sought from the search giant for five years of back taxes. Analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley said fears that other electronic payment systems would challenge PayPal as online currency have proved unfounded. PayPal's "acceptance lead among top 500 internet retailers remains undiminished," said the Morgan Stanley analyst. "Bitcoin acceptance is 'virtually zero and shrinking,'" the analysts said, of one of the main digital payment systems.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2017 16:44 ET (20:44 GMT)