but late in the day, moody s cut ireland s credit rating to junk status. that put an end to the rally. microchip technology plunged 12% after lowering expectations. novellus fell 11%. newscorp rose more than 8% after the company, in the midst of a phone hacking scandal said it would back bike more than $5 million of its own stock. alcoa fell on concerns falling aluminum prices might affect this quarter. in deal moves, video game publisher electronic arts is buying popcap games in a deal worth $ 1.3 billion. and radiant systems rose 30% after saying atmmaker ncr corp. would buy the company for $1.32.