By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector rallied Friday to close in the black for the
eighth session in a row, as the Nasdaq Composite Index wrapped up
the week with a 7.4% gain.
The Nasdaq (RIXF) rose 0.1% to close at 1,887. The index is now
up 19.6% so far this year.
The sector began the session weighed down by losses in shares of
Google Inc. (GOOG) whose modest second-quarter revenue growth
disappointed investors. Shares of the Internet-search giant fell
2.8%, retreating after the company reported results late
Thursday.
But the sector got a boost from shares of another tech
bellwether, as IBM (IBM) which added 4.3%. Late Thursday, Big Blue
posted a 12% increase in second-quarter profit and raised its
forecast.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) added also rose with
a 1% gain.
Semiconductor shares also bounced back as the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1.2% on gains scored by such giants
as Intel Corp. (INTC), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) and Advanced
Micro Devices (AMD).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 32 points, as
investors reacted to mixed earnings results.
Along with fellow blue chips IBM and Intel, shares of Cisco
Systems (CSCO) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) traded higher within
the Dow, while Microsoft (MSFT) sustained modest losses.