By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector edged higher Wednesday, powered by gains in
shares of Yahoo Inc. and SanDisk Corp., after the companies posted
upbeat earnings.
Yahoo (YHOO) rose more than 4% in the opening minutes of
trading, a day after the Internet powerhouse reported third-quarter
profit that tripled from the year-earlier period.
Meanwhile, shares of SanDisk (SNDK) soared more than 10%, after
the memory chip maker swung to a third-quarter profit, beating Wall
Street's estimates.
The double play propelled the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) to
early gains, as the tech-heavy benchmark rose 1% to 2,187.
The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) gained 1.3%, while
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) added 1%.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) was up more than 1% after Wedbush analyst
Matthew Robison upgraded the networking gear-maker to outperform
from neutral, citing the company's growth opportunities, including
aggressive moves to reclaim market share.
Gains also came from other tech giants, including Amazon.com
(AMZN), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
On the other hand, Seagate Technology (STX) fell more than 3%,
after the computer hard disk-maker reported a decline in sales,
despite posting a big jump in profit.
Polycom Inc. (PLCM) also fell more than 15%, after the video
conferencing systems company reported mixed results that analysts
said were weighed down by higher-than-expected investment
spending.