Dell, Novell Fall on Profit; PetSmart Rises: U.S. After-Hours

By Fabio Alves

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Inc. declined in extended U.S. trading after the world's second-largest personal-computer maker posted a profit that trailed analysts' estimates.

Dell dropped 9.2 percent to $22.90 at 4:37 p.m. in New York. The company said second-quarter net income fell 17 percent from a year earlier to $616 million, or 31 cents a share. The computer maker also said a slowdown in technology spending is expanding into Europe and Asia.

Novell Inc. slipped 2.5 percent to $5.86. The second- largest U.S. seller of Linux software reported a wider third- quarter loss because of a charge related to its investments. The net loss of $15.1 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.68 million, or 1 cent, a year earlier.

PetSmart Inc. gained 4.4 percent to $25.49. The largest U.S. pet store chain posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates by 5.6 percent, according to Bloomberg data.

September futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.1 point to 1,297.8 while Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 2 to 1,907.5.

U.S. stocks rose the most in three weeks in regular trading after growth in exports helped the economy expand faster than estimated in the second quarter.

The S&P 500 added 19.02 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,300.68, with 9 of its 10 main industry groups gaining. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 212.67, or 1.9 percent, to 11,715.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 29.18 to 2,411.64. More than five stocks rose for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fabio Alves in New York at falves3@bloomberg.net.