Investors Jump Back In

Sensing oversold conditions, tech investors jumped back into buying mode Thursday, driving most technology issues upward. Leading the charge was the battered semiconductor sector, followed closely by telecom stocks. Contributing to a day that saw all the major indexes inch higher was a dip in oil prices, a day after rising fuel prices pulled the markets down.

Oddly, two of the most reliable tech stocks, Microsoft and Dell, bucked the trend, with Microsoft falling 0.4%, or 10 cents, to $28.48, and Dell falling 0.3%, or 9 cents, to $35.26. JDS Uniphase was the big winner after it reported better-than-expected earnings Wednesday; its stock rose 14.7%, or 44 cents, to $3.44. Applied Materials was up 3.8%, or 60 cents, to $16.46, and Intel rose 3.3%, or 78 cents, to $24.24. Cisco Systems rose 1.5%, or 30 cents, to $20.80, and Yahoo was up 2.7%, or 79 cents, to $30.49. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 1.2%, or 40 cents, to $34.78.

The InformationWeek 100 outpaced the other indexes, rising 5.49, or nearly 2%, to 286.02, while the Nasdaq rose 1.2%, or 22.80 points, to 1,881.06. The S&P 500 was up 0.5%, or 5.01, to 1,100.43, and the Dow rose 0.1%, or 12.17, to 10,129.24.

See the full listing of all the companies in the InformationWeek 100 and the top 5 percentage winners and losers for the last closing at informationweek.com/stocks.