TECH STOCKS: Another UpswingTECH STOCKS: Another Upswing

Our indexes rallied Wednesday, putting an end to days of light trading as investors sank big bucks into technology issues.

Advanced Micro Devices rose 8.7%, or $1.46, after reporting higher-than-expected earnings. Shares of chipmakers also got a boost from a Gartner report forecasting a sales gain of 20% next year over 2003. Intel's share price rose 2.1%, or 69 cents, to $34.10.

Other tech stocks also gained. Apple Computer rose 3.7%, or 79 cents, to $22.33; Amazon.com rose 3.6%, or $1.90, to $54.13; Dell rose 1.9%, or 66 cents, to $35.67; Oracle rose 1.8%, or 23 cents, to $12.77; and Microsoft rose 0.7%, or 18 cents, to $25.98. Computer Sciences Corp. rose $3.40, or 8%, to $44.19 after the IT services firm said Tuesday that its quarterly profit rose 16%, helped by an acquisition that brought in more deals from the U.S. government.

For the day, the information 100 rose 3.2%, or 9.82 points, to 317.67, and the Nasdaq index rose 2.2%, or 42.36 points, to 1,973.11. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 2.1%, or 75 cents, to $35.81, as 78.5 million shares changed hands.

Less-tech-heavy indexes posted smaller gains. The Dow industrials rose 1.1%, or 111.04 points, to 9,848.83, and the S&P 500 also rose 1.1%, or 11.96 points, to 1,058.53.