The tech sector is trading higher today, ahead of gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative strength with the SOX trading 2.6% higher. NXPI (+5.5%) is a notable leader in the chip index. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.4% higher today, while the QQQ is up 0.9% and the NASDAQ is trading 0.7% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, only AAPL (-0.1%) and VZ (-2.3%) are showing any weakness. In earnings, there appears to be an early trend: INTC (+2.9%), YHOO (+0.1%) and FIS (-5.0%) all reported mixed Q2 results, beating on EPS and missing on revs.
Elsewhere, ROVI (-41.2%) guided down and EMC (+9.3%) and VMW (+9.2%) issued largely inline guidance. This morning, ERIC (+3.5%), ASML (+4.3%), and CHKP (+5.4%) posted a slight beats. APH (+12.7%), on the other hand, topped estimates and raised guidance. In news, EMC (+9.3%) and VMW (+9.2%) announced that EMC divisional COO will become the CEO of VMW and that current VMW CEO will be joining EMC as a strategist. Among rumors, BGR reports that AAPL's (-0.1%) iPhone is set for a fall launch equipped with LTE and NFC (NXPI +5.5%). There were no notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space. Yet in downgrades, ROVI (-41.2%) was downgraded at a host of firms including JPM and Piper. Elsewhere, AMT (-2.8%) was downgraded to Neutral at Citigroup, DLB (-2.5%) was downgraded to Underweight at JP Morgan, and CYMI (-0.1%) was downgraded to Equal Weight at Barclays. IBM (-0.8%) and QCOM (+2.2%) are the most notable names in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close.






