US Tech Stocks Gain, Helped By Semiconductor Sector >INTC TXN

Technology stocks rose in morning trading Monday as semiconductor shares led the sector's gains and the market began to show more confidence in governmental efforts to stabilize the international financial system.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index recently rose 17 points to 1729, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was up 3 points to 242 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index moved ahead 5 to 376.

The market also reacted positively to comments from Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke before a congressional committee.

Among tech stocks, shares of Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) rose 1.3% recently to $17.87. The world's largest maker of communication chips is scheduled to report third-quarter results after Monday's market close.

Shares of Intel Corp. (INTC), part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 2% to $15.80.

Earlier Monday, Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the world's biggest semiconductor company to neutral from buy. Intel's margins might have already reached their peak for the current business cycle, Goldman said.

Among other bellwether tech stocks, gains came from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM).

Trading lower, shares of SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) fell 10.3% to $13.91.

The flash-memory developer said it reached a nonbinding deal to sell 30% of its manufacturing capacity to Japan's Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO). The manufacturing capacity comes from joint ventures already in place between the two companies.

-By Rex Crum; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com