Why the Nasdaq's Soaring This Morning

With the announced departure of Jerry Yang from Yahoo! and Wikipedia's blackout focusing attention on online piracy legislation, investors are bidding up tech shares strongly. At around 11 a.m. EST, the Nasdaq Composite (INDEX: ^IXIC) was up 22 points to 2,750, outperforming both the Dow and the S&P 500 for the day so far.

Linear Technology (NAS: LLTC) led the Nasdaq higher, jumping more than 9% after announcing fiscal second-quarter earnings. Even with sales down 23% and net income falling 39%, both figures came in above expectations. Moreover, the company predicted higher sales in the coming quarter. Integrated-circuit peer Maxim Integrated Products (NAS: MXIM) rose more than 5%, with strength seen throughout the industry.

On the downside was DIRECTV, falling about 2%. The company got downgraded from buy to neutral by UBS. Given the immense competition among cable and satellite providers for video, DIRECTV will likely continue to see pressure for the foreseeable future.

Beyond the tech portion of the Nasdaq, Wynn Resorts (NAS: WYNN) rose about 3.5% in morning trading. The casino giant extended gains from yesterday, with strong economic data from China suggesting that the company's Macau operations could continue to see substantial growth.

Sears Holdings (NAS: SHLD) also jumped on continued speculation that the company might end up getting taken private. With investing gurus Eddie Lampert and Bruce Berkowitz combining to own nearly three-quarters of the company already, buying out the remaining minority shareholders wouldn't be a huge stretch and could come at a substantial premium to the stock's beaten-down price.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Dan Caplinger doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Yahoo!. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Yahoo! and Linear Technology. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

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