By Benjamin Pimentel
The tech sector bounced back late Thursday to eke a small gain,
despite losses in shares of semiconductor companies.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) lost 1.4%, as shares
of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped about 1%. The chip giant
geared up for its third-quarter report after the closing bell.
On Wednesday, the sector got a boost from Intel Corp.'s (INTC)
upbeat third-quarter report, which propelled tech shares and the
broader market to hefty gains.
Intel was down 0.8%, while other chip companies, including
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) and Marvell Technology (MRVL), saw shares
tumble.
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) fell 1.25% after posting a drop in quarterly
profit on Wednesday.
The chip sector losses set the stage for broader declines
earlier in the day. But the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) later
recovered on gains from Microsoft Corp. and Rambus Inc. The
tech-heavy benchmark rose a tiny fraction to close higher at 2,173.
The Nasdaq was up 1.6% for the week.
Microsoft (MSFT) added 2.9%, while Rambus (RMBS) gained 2%.
Two other tech heavyweights -- IBM Corp. and Google Inc. -- will
report results Thursday. IBM (IBM) shares were down 0.3%, while
Google (GOOG) was off 1%.
Other major tech players' shares declined, including Dell Inc.
(DELL), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).