AMD (NYSE: AMD) led the tech sector higher on Tuesday, soaring nearly 15 percent on an upgrade.
Barclays analyst Tim Luke said an improving PC market, new products and legal progress against Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) are among the factors that could lead to AMD’s resurgence, while AMD foundry partner ATIC’s acquisition of Chartered Semi (NASDAQ: CHRT) also boosted AMD shares.
The rest of the chip sector was up more than 2 percent on the day, while Morgan Stanley upgrades boosted shares of QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) and Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), as the Wall Street firm made a bullish call on the hardware sector. Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) were downgraded by the firm based on valuation.
Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) soared 8 percent on a Caris upgrade, while Hutchinson (NASDAQ: HTCH) was up 7 percent after raising its financial guidance.
Intellon (NASDAQ: ITLN) was a big gainer, up more than 40 percent on news that it will be acquired by Atheros (NASDAQ: ATHR).
Dot Hill (NASDAQ: HILL) gained 18 percent after raising guidance.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) will provide the tech sector’s next major earnings report on Sept. 16.
The Nasdaq rose 19 to 2037, the S&P 500 was up 9 to 1025, and the Dow gained 56 to 9497. Volume rose to 5.24 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.04 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by a 28-9 margin on the NYSE, and 16-10 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 65 percent on the NYSE, and 77 percent on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 196-49 on the NYSE, and 75-9 on the Nasdaq.
