Nasdaq Defies Downturn as AMD Buys Xilinx
The U.S. stock market was generally weaker on Tuesday, but that didn't stop the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) from posting gains. As we've seen on several occasions in the past, optimism about the growth prospects for top stocks in the technology sector has played a key role in lifting the Nasdaq even when the rest of the stock market has been on the decline. That was the case today, as the Nasdaq was up almost 0.75% at 3:30 p.m. EDT with the Dow and S&P 500 both down on the day.
The big news of the day among Nasdaq stocks was that Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has decided to move forward with plans to acquire programmable chip specialist Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX). The massive deal will create a juggernaut in the semiconductor arena and position the post-merger AMD as a force to be reckoned with as the 5G wireless-network upgrade cycle begins in earnest.
If you have a sense of deja vu reading about Xilinx and AMD, don't worry -- you're not imagining things. The two companies were rumored earlier this month to be in talks to merge, and those rumors had been enough to send Xilinx's share price significantly higher at the time.
Source Fool.com
