By Benjamin Pimentel
Technology stocks edged higher Monday morning, led by shares of
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which jumped at the opening bell after
getting an upgrade from Citigroup.
PC maker Dell Inc. (DELL) also got help from an upgrade, after
an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech raised his rating on the stock to
buy. Dell shares rose 3% to about $15. The same analyst had
upgraded Dell from a sell rating in March.
"Two factors that kept us at neutral despite our recent positive
bias were the enterprise IT-demand environment and downward mix
shift in PCs," analyst Dinesh Moorjani wrote to clients. "We are
now more optimistic on the PC demand outlook and believe the
downward mix shift has played out for the most part."
Dell reports earnings results for the second fiscal quarter on
Thursday.
AMD (AMD) was up 9.5% after Citigroup raised its rating for the
chip maker to buy from hold, citing a "favorable risk/reward
profile."
The semiconductor giant's gains helped propel the Nasdaq
Composite Index (RIXF) to 2,027, for a gain of 0.3%. The Morgan
Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down slightly, while the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) added a fraction%.
Other gainers included Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), up 1.6%; Oracle Corp.
(ORCL), up 1.1%; and Google Inc. (GOOG), up 1%.