By Rex Crum
Technology stocks rallied in early trading Friday, following the
broad market north after the latest job-loss figures showed
better-than-expected results for July.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) climbed 12 points
to 1,985, while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was
also on the rise. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) dipped
into the red.
Leading the rally were the job-loss figures from the Labor
Department, which show the U.S. economy losing 247,000 non-farm
jobs in July. The losses weren't as bad as had been expected, and
the U.S. unemployment rate fell back to 9.4%.
Among tech stocks, graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) rose
82 cents a share, or 6.3%, to $13.92.
Late Thursday, Nvidia reported a second-quarter loss of $105.3
million, or 19 cents a share, on revenue of $776.5 million.
However, excluding one-time items, Nvidia would have earned 7 cents
a share, while analysts had forecast the company to lose 2 cents a
share. Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said Nvidia's business was
showing signs of "recovering" from a recent downturn.
Other gains came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT),
Dell Inc. (DELL), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Intel Corp. (INTC),
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and IBM Corp. (IBM).