Financial Wire

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

-- Tech stocks were higher late Monday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 2.4%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 1.4%.

In corporate news, Oracle (ORCL) said it introduced AI-focused updates to its utilities software suite at its customer edge summit, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management. Oracle shares jumped 12%.

The recent sell-offs in Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), and ServiceNow (NOW) amid broader software apathy are disconnected from the AI opportunities over the coming years, as enterprises prioritize integrating AI across tech stacks, Wedbush said in a note. Shares of Salesforce and Microsoft were up 4.7% and 3.2%, respectively

Intel (INTC) is seen with a modest upside bias to its fiscal Q1 results and full-year outlook, driven by resilient PC demand and a sharp inflection in server CPU demand, along with pricing gains of roughly 10%, UBS Securities said in a note. UBS maintained its neutral rating on the stock but raised its price target to $65 from $51. Intel shares rose 4.4%.

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SUPCON's 2025 Profit Drops 60%, Revenue Slips 12%; Shares Down 5%

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Aspial Lifestyle Prices SG$28 Million Worth of Bonds; Shares Up 7%

Aspial Lifestyle (SGX:5UF) priced SG$28 million worth of 5.10% bonds due 2029, under its SG$300 million multicurrency medium-term bond program, according to a Monday filing with the Singapore Exchange.Shares of the retail brand were up over 7% in Tuesday's late-morning trading.The bonds will be consolidated and form a single series with the existing SG$75 million 5.10% bonds due 2029.DBS Bank was appointed as the sole dealer for the bonds.Net proceeds raised from the issue of the bonds will be used for general corporate purposes.The bonds are expected to be listed on April 30, the filing added.

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