Intel's stock surges to pace Dow gainers, heads toward 17 1/2-year high
Shares of Intel Corp. surged 1.8% toward a 17 1/2-year high in morning trade Tuesday, enough to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average's gainers, amid a broad rally in the semiconductor sector. The rally put Intel's stock on track to close at the highest level Sept. 21, 2000, while the Dow fell 78 points in morning trade. The PHLX Semiconductor Index hiked up 0.9%, with 20 of 30 components trading higher. The index rose to an all-time intraday high of 1,399.99 earlier in the session before paring gains to be fractionally below the Jan. 23 record close of 1,392.86. J.P. Morgan analyst Harlan Sur said in a note to clients Tuesday that recent monthly industry data was "confirmation" that the chip industry was "still healthy on both a total semi-industry and ex-memory basis." On Monday, the Semiconductor Industry Association said January chip sales rose 23% from a year ago to $37.6 billion. Intel's stock has rallied 16.4% over the past three months, while the chip sector index has climbed 12.6% and the Dow has gained 2.7%.
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