By Benjamin Pimentel
Intel Corp.'s surprising strong second-quarter results triggered
a tech sector rally early Wednesday, pushing the Nasdaq Composite
Index back above the 1,800 mark.
One analyst, referring to the recent Major League Baseball
All-Star game, called the chip giant's results a "grand slam."
"In addition to Pujols and Jeter, Intel also showed up at the
MLB All-Star Game and then hit a grand slam by delivering
significantly higher revenues and gross margins for both second
quarter results and the third quarter guide, respectively," Wedbush
analyst Patrick Wang told clients.
Intel late Tuesday posted impressive adjusted earnings, and
issued a better-than-expected third-quarter forecast. The company's
shares soared more than 6% in the opening minutes.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based tech behemoth's results triggered
a buying spree in the chip sector and beyond, pushing the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) up by more than 3%.
Intel's arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) gained
nearly 9%, while Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) rose 3%.
These gains boosted the Nasdaq (RIXF) by 2% to 1,836, while the
Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) added 2.5%.
Major bellwethers gained more than 2%, including Hewlett-Packard
(HPQ), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
Cisco Systems (CSCO) was up 3%, while Juniper Networks (JNPR)
gained more than 3.5%.
The tech gains helped lift the broader market as the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) gained more than 120 points.