Stockwatch Daily: Rally goes on around Baltimore

NEWS In London the FTSE TechMARK index opened up nine points - or 0.5 per cent - while the FTSE100 slipped back slightly. The European bourses also started weakly, with the German DAX and French CAC 40 both a fraction down, further highlighting the relative tech success. An earnings warning from Baltimore Technologies sent its share price down 14 per cent out of the gate, but didn't impact other tech firms. The strength in the tech sector this week largely resides in the chip companies, with ARM rising three per cent early on. In the US, a 2.5 per cent rise in the Nasdaq yesterday was led by chip companies including Intel and Triquint Semiconductor. Yesterday also saw rises for networking company Cisco, and software vendors Oracle and Microsoft.