MSFT - Activision EA Take-Two stocks gain as June video game spending climbs

Ivan Pantic/E+ via Getty Images Video game stocks are at the top of the Communications Services (XLC) sector as NDP Group reports a 5% rise in spending on consoles, content and accessories to $4.9B last month. Activision (ATVI) +1.2%, EA (EA) +0.7% and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) +1.4% are all higher. Hardware was the driver for the monthly gain, which helped push H1 2021 spending to $28.9B, up 15% from the year-ago period. "June video game hardware dollar sales jumped 112% when compared to June 2020, to $401M," Mat Piscatela, video game advisor at NDP, tweets. "This is the highest total achieved in a June month since 2008 ($617M). Year-to-date hardware consumer spending has increased 45% compared to 2020's first half, to $2.3B." Microsoft's (MSFT) +0.4% Xbox topped June in dollar amount, while Nintendo's (NTDOY) -0.6% Switch led in unit sales. Sony's (SONY) -0.7% PlayStation 5 remains the fastest unit selling console of all time. In games, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart debuted

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Activision, EA, Take-Two stocks gain as June video game spending climbs