The tech sector is trading modestly higher today, along with slight gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative weakness, however, with the SOX trading 0.2% lower. Within the chip index, VECO (-6.7%) is a notable laggard. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.1% higher today, while the QQQ is up 0.1% and the NASDAQ is trading roughly flat on the session. Among tech bellwethers, INTC (+1.0%) is showing strength, while FB (-3.0%) is showing notable weakness.
In tech earnings last night, NTAP (+10.2%) posted a Q2 EPS beat and guided inline and NTES (-4.8%) reported a miss, but announced a special dividend and a share repurchase. Also, AKAM (+0.1%) reaffirmed its guidance. This morning, DANG (+15.8%) posted a beat and raise. In news, TXN (+0.3%) announced a restructuring effort in eliminating its OMAP business and cut 1.7K jobs. Among rumors, there are reports that AAPL (-0.5%) is shipping more MacBook orders, but may delay iMac shipments. In notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space, CTSH (+0.7%) and CHA (-0.3%) were upgraded to Outperform at Credit Suisse, NTAP (+10.2%) was upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James. Among downgrades, MGI (-8.6%) and PAYX (+0.2%) were downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse. AMAT (+0.2%), DELL (+0.1%), and MRVL (+1.2%) are the notable names in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.






