TECH STOCKS: Good News On Multiple Fronts Boosts Markets

A combination of rising economic indicators, upgrades for key blue-chip stocks and a positive earnings report from 3Com added up to continued good news on Wall Street. All of the major indexes were up, with the tech-laden Nasdaq and InformationWeek 100 leading the way.

3Com rose 3% to $7.93 one day after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue. Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to "overweight."

Other tech issues also had a good day. Intel rose 73 cents, or 2.4%, to $30.90; Cisco rose 48 cents, or 2.0%, to $23.97; Qualcomm rose $2.16, or 4.4%, to $51.48; Xylinx rose $2.29, or 6.5%, to $37.55; and eBay rose $2.71, or 4.7%, to $60.00. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock was up 66 cents, or 1.9%, to $35.57, as 88.7 million shares changed hands.

Our InformationWeek 100 had the best day among the indexes, rising 8.25 points, or 2.8%, to 305.37, while the Nasdaq rose 34.85 points, or 1.8%, to 1,956.18. The Dow industrials rose 102.82 points, or 1%, to 10,248.08, and the S&P 500 rose 12.69 points, or 1.2%, to close at 1,089.18.