Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] There is a good bit of red on stock monitors to begin the session, but one area where you can find a lot of green is the information technology sector (+0.9%). There is nothing greener, either, than the semiconductor stocks.

Intel (INTC 80.95, +14.17, +21.22%) set the tone last night with its strong earnings results and outlook, and it is setting the pace today with its huge move after the report. Its coattails are long, too. 

Intel is the best-performing S&P 500 component by a long shot, followed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 338.17, +32.84, +10.76%) and Qualcomm (QCOM 145.27, +11.32, +8.45%). NVIDIA (NVDA 201.20, +1.56, +0.78%), Micron (MU 490.62, +8.90, +1.85%), and chip equipment makers Lam Research (LRCX 269.16, +10.60, +4.10%), KLA Corporation (KLAC 1875.52, +60.09, +3.31%), and Applied Materials (AMAT 412.20, +8.29, +2.05%) aren't too shabby either.

With today's 2.4% gain, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is up 36% since the end of March.

Just in, the final University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for April checked in at 49.8 (Briefing.com consensus: 47.6) from the record-low 47.6 seen in the preliminary report.