Chip stocks surged 3.6% Friday, spurred by an upgrade, while Dell fell 3.8% on lower than expected revenue guidance.
The broader market also rose on the day, an impressive performance given that Dell, one of technology’s most dependable performers, had issued a revenue warning.
Chips were boosted by a CS First Boston upgrade of Novellus , which soared 7% on the day. Fellow chip equipment maker Applied Materials
, which reports quarterly results next week, gained 3%.
Also boosting tech stocks was a stock split announcement by Apple . Shares of Apple climbed 3.6% on the news.
The Nasdaq surged 23 to 2076, the S&P 500 gained 8 to 1205, and the Dow rose 46 to 10,796. Volume rose to 1.56 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.17 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 23-10 on the NYSE, and 20-10 edge on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 78% on the NYSE, and 75% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 294-18 on the NYSE, and 101-65 on the Nasdaq.
MCI edged higher on reports that the company is close to being acquired by Verizon
.
Novatel , Enterasys
, MRV
and Analog Devices
rose on their results.
Click Commerce plunged 17% after missing revenue estimates.
Veeco tumbled 10% after postponing its earnings release.