Some technology-stock analysts have become more optimistic.
Merrill Lynch & Co's Daniel Heyler raised ratings last week on Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd (特許半導體), Singapore's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, and on Stats ChipPAC Ltd, the world's third-biggest chip tester.
Chartered has gained 1.6 percent since April 22, when the company reported its biggest loss in seven quarters. During the same period, Stats ChipPAC has added 1.5 percent.
Hideo Ueki, chief investment officer at UBS Global Asset Management in Tokyo, said counting on across-the-board gains in technology stocks may be unwise because the companies tend to be most vulnerable to economic trends.
Ueki said he's favoring makers of liquid crystal displays over chipmakers, and electronic-component producers over their customers, because their parts go into a range of technology products.
"There is a lot of disagreement as to where we are" in terms of spending, said Scott McGlashan, a fund manager at J O Hambro Capital Management Ltd in London.
Even so, many overseas investors anticipate that the weakness in technology stocks won't persist, McGlashan said.
"These stocks will react positively to any good news, and more vigorously than to bad news," he said.
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