The Battle Road Tech Index™ rose 9 percent for the week ended March 13, 2009, closing at 1016. Year-to-date, the index is up 1.6 percent, having started at a value of 1000.

The following companies were notable movers for the week:

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares rose 24.8 percent for the week. On Wednesday, March 11, Nokia announced three new music phones and plans to further expand its music service offerings. One of the three offerings was the 5730 model, which targets the social networking trend with a full sliding keyboard. Nokia said it will expand its “Comes with Music” bundled service, which offers unlimited music from major labels and a number of independents, and the music can be kept after the yearly contract has expired. The individual tracks can be downloaded to a phone or a single computer and are free, though the cost of the music is reflected in the price of the phone itself. This may further solidify the company’s position as the top smart phone producer.

Shares of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose 14.4 percent this week following the company’s analyst day on Wednesday, March 11. Executives mapped out an ambitious growth strategy, aiming to monetize Skype to a greater degree and broaden its scope, as well as growing the Paypal payment business internationally and gaining market share overseas. The company intends to further differentiate itself from rival Amazon.com, which is seen as a smart strategy after facing criticism for shifting focus from online auctions to more fixed-price sales.

Activision-Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) fell 4.4 percent over the week, following a notification on Thursday March 12 that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and co-chairman Brian Kelly together sold 3.2 million shares. Investors have been worried about insider sales at Activision ever since a 2002 incident when insiders sold off holdings right before a downturn in the share price. However, the options Kotick exercised were due to expire within one year and represent less than 3% of his total equity exposure.