The tech sector battled back to positive territory early Thursday as analysts pointed to signs of a rebound in the semiconductor industry and eBay Inc. issued an upbeat near-term sales outlook.
EBay's projection to boost total sales by as much as 40% in the next few years sent its shares up 1%. Meanwhile, two analysts cited signs of life in the struggling chip industry as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 1.4% on gains from bellwethers, including Intel Corp. Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia Corp. Wachovia analyst David Wong had told clients in a note that, in Taiwan, a center of global chip manufacturing, "there was a clear month-over-month pickup in sales in February."
In a separate not, Caris & Company analyst Nicholas Aberle also said, "We are incrementally more positive on our semiconductor universe which may be approaching a near-term fundamental bottom."
The positive news from eBay and chips set the stage for an early morning tech comeback. After wavering at the opening bell, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4%, while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index was up 0.2%.
Other tech giants advanced, including Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems However, other major tech players struggled in the red. Microsoft lost 2.9%, while Hewlett-Packard was down 1.1% and Dell Inc. was off 1%.
Meanwhile, the broader market rebounded from earlier losses as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 60 points.
