Intel Seeing Strong Move To The Upside

Shares of Intel INTC are quietly near a 52 week high, gaining 55 cents today to trade at $23.30, a gain of over 2%. The semiconductor group in general has performed extremely well since last week, when the markets begin to rip to the upside. In particular, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX as it's known as), erased all of June's losses, and is now positive for the year. To no one's surprise, Intel is a major component of the SOX, being the world's largest chip maker. Semiconductors are so important because they are used in practically everything from computers to phones to cars.