By Rex Crum
Tech stocks started August on a positive note Monday, with most
of the sector on the rise and semiconductor sales rising in the
second quarter of the year.
The Semiconductor Industry Association [SIA] trade group said
that worldwide chip sales in the second quarter rose to $74.8
billion, up 7.1% from the first-quarter sales of $69.9 billion.
Chip sales in June totaled $24.9 billion, up slightly from the
$24.8 billion in sales recorded in May.
Brian Toohey, president of the SIA, said that the chip-growth
rates reflects strong demand from end markets, but that those rates
will moderate in the coming months.
Among chip stocks, LSI Corp. (LSI), Micron Technology Inc. (MU)
and Intel Corp. (INTC) each saw their shares rise more than 2%.
Gains also came from Seagate Technology (STX), Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT), Google Inc. (GOOG), Apple Inc. (AAPL), and SanDisk Corp.
(SNDK).
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose almost 40 points, or
close to 2%, to 2,294, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
(SOX) and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) each rose
almost 2%.
Decliners included Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM), which gave up
73 cents a share to slip to $56.82.
Over the weekend, regulators in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates said they would ban telecom companies in those countries
from offering RIM's BlackBerry messaging service. Saudi officials
gave no reason for the ban, but the U.A.E. said it made the
decision due to an ongoing dispute between RIM and U.A.E. officials
over the monitoring of data.
Separately, reports surfaced saying RIM would host an event next
week to unveil the first touchscreen BlackBerry device, and that
AT&T Inc. (T) would be the exclusive U.S. carrier for the new
BlackBerry.