Sign Of Life In Semiconductor Sector, But Still Down From Last Week

Semiconductor stocks showed minor signs of life Tuesday after a maker of radio frequency chips for mobile phones said industry trends pushed its results in the recent quarter ahead of expectations.

The RF chipmaker Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: SWKS), which sells to the smartphone and tablet markets, said results were driven by "positive underlying market trends" according to Chief Executive David J. Aldrich.

But the semiconductor group continues to struggle after last week's selloff sparked by a profit warnings from Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP).

Microchip, which counts 80,000 customers, said slowing demand in China hurt sales. The company warned that an "industry correction has begun and that this correction will be seen more broadly across the industry in the near future."

Even with a 2 percent pop early Tuesday, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is still down 10 percent since last week.

Among companies that Skyworks lists as its competitors, Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) gained 2 percent Tuesday to $44.02 per share, while RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) opened sharply higher but fell back to $15.40 per share, up 1.3 percent.

TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT) spiked early Tuesday and traded recently at $15.40 per share, up 1.3 percent.

Avago Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: AVGO) was up 0.8 percent to $69.58, Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ: PSMI) gained 0.3 percent to $12.42 while the NASDAQ Composite Index was up 0.32 percent.