Who Fired Up The Nasdaq?
Semiconductors have surged and helped ignite a rally Tuesday in the
technology sector that has taken the Nasdaq up more than 3% at mid-day.
Blue chips have joined the party as well, with the Dow and S&P 500
tacking on 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
A weaker-than-expected non-farm productivity number as well as a
larger-than-expected decline for April’s factory orders have contributed to idea
that more Fed rate cuts might be on the way.
Non-farm productivity fell 1.2% in April which was a weaker showing than the
anticipated 0.7% decline. The drop was the largest in eight years.
Factory orders for April fell by 3.0%, which was more than the 2.5% decline
analysts had expected, and again, the weakness evident in the economy bodes well
for the chances of more Fed interest rate easings.
Leading the charge for techs is the semiconductor index
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which has jumped an impressive 7%.
Tops in the SOX are Xilinx
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Lattice Semiconductor
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In addition to motivating the Nasdaq, the SOX has surged convincingly back
above its 50-day moving average after falling below it last week.
Other sectors painting a green tape are the biotechs
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4.3%, computer technology
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products
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Among tech’s bigger winners is Comverse Technology
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8.29 to 66.95 after topping earnings estimates.
Leading the Dow are Intel
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up 2.7%, Alcoa
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Looking ahead, traders will be eyeballing the weekly unemployment numbers
which will be released on Thursday at 8:30 AM ET. Last week’s total was a steep
419,000.