The Dow Jones Industrial Index (^DJI +0.73%) continued on to new highs this week, edging up 1% from last Friday's close and just missing the coveted 17,000 mark. The week was an interesting one in tech, as Intel (INTC +12.93%) closed solidly above $30 while peer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +4.05%) gave up its early weekly gains following a negative report from Digitimes citing weakness in graphics card shipments. Meanwhile, Apple's upcoming jumbo-sized iPhone may have gotten a bit more real this week, following leaks from Sonny Dickson.
Intel holds its ground
Shares of Intel held firmly above $30, closing at $30.20, up 1.1% for the week. The shares have traded in a fairly tight range following the initial move up from the company's positive pre-announcement, likely as investors wait for the company's full-year revenue and gross margin revision. If the trends that allowed Intel to beat for the quarter extend through the rest of the year, then the stock may have further room to run. If it turns out to be a one-time bump, however, then investors may become more eager to lock in their gains.
Advanced Micro Devices, however, slumps
On a related note, Intel's arch-rival in the PC chip space, Advanced Micro Devices, slumped to end the week down 4.2% after having been up as much as 5.1% for the week during the June 17 trading session. The only AMD-specific news that seems to have been responsible for this drop appears to be a report from Digitimes claiming that graphics card shipments are poised to drop 30-40% in Q2 from the prior quarter. AMD has fairly high exposure to the graphics add-in board business, which may be driving investor worries.
Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone is starting to look real
Sonny Dickson, well known for mobile device leaks, shared with 9to5 Mac a couple of images of what appears to be a 5.5-inch LCD display component for this rumored larger iPhone. Releasing both 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch models of the iPhone makes a lot of business sense for Apple particularly as, according to a report from Kantar WorldPanel ComTech, the growth in sales of smartphones with screens larger than 5 inches continues to be robust. Daniel Sparks, senior technology specialist with The Motley Fool, goes into more detail on the implications of this in his recent piece. Apple shares closed down 0.4% for the week.
