Tech earnings give Nasdaq biggest boost in 6 months

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies sent stocks soaring today after Intel Corp. and other big companies posted surprisingly strong earnings. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite had its biggest one-day jump in six months.

The Nasdaq rose 55, or 2 percent, to 2,800. It hasn't risen that much since October 5.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178 points, or 1.5 percent, to 12,445.

Intel rose 6 percent, the most of the index's 30 companies, after the chip-maker reported late Tuesday that its income rose 29 percent in the first quarter because of rising demand for personal computers. The results easily beat analysts' expectations and allayed concerns that surging sales of tablet computers would hurt Intel's results.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 18, or 1.4 percent, to 1,330.

Technology company Amphenol Corp. rose 7 percent, the most of any company in the S&P 500 index, after reporting that its earnings per share rose 31 percent.