Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp, Texas Instruments Inc and Motorola Inc's sales in the past quarter and forecasts for demand suggested to some investors a slump in technology spending is easing.
Microsoft said its fiscal third-quarter sales gained 8.1 percent because of multiyear contracts and more orders for business pro-grams. Intel, the world's biggest computer-chip maker, said first-quarter sales fell less than 1 percent and forecast second-quarter revenue will rise as much as 11 percent to US$7 billion.
The forecast from Intel alone "is pretty positive for Intel and the entire technology industry," said Robert Siewert, an analyst with Victory Capital Management, which manages US$50 billion and owns shares of computer companies
including Intel and International Business Machines Corp.
Texas Instruments Inc, the No. 1 maker of chips for cellphones, said sales rose 20 percent and will gain this quarter.
Motorola Inc, the world's No. 2 mobile-telephone maker, had first- quarter net income of US$169 million, its third consecutive quarter of profit, as costs fell and handset sales rose.
"Both TI and Intel gave pretty okay guidance for the second quarter -- there was a fear that these companies would give cautious guidance," said Jimmy Chang, an analyst with US Trust Corp, which manages US$81 billion and owns shares of Texas Instruments and Intel.
Some investors aren't ready to declare a recovery in technology-related spending.
Last month, the Semiconductor Industry Association said worldwide sales of semiconductors in February rose at their slowest pace in six months. Global orders for Japan-made chip making equipment rose 38 percent in February, their smallest increase in six months.
"There are a lot of mixed views out there on semiconductor expenditure and a sustainable recovery in the technology sector," said Ed Gaunt, who helps manage US$800 million as chief investment director at American Express Asset Management in Tokyo.
"We still expect a lot of volatility and if we again get some poor data, markets will start to get worried again," he said.
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