Apple at new high as techs rise on upswing

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Tech stocks got a boost from a broad market upswing on Wednesday afternoon, though players such as Corning and Motorola Solutions remained well in the red following earnings results.

/quotes/zigman/123127 COMP 2,747.48, -79.86, -2.82% /quotes/zigman/627449 DJIA 12,118.57, -274.88, -2.22%

The Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates low through 2014. The Dow DJIA � rose 83 points, while the S&P 500 SPX �added nearly 1%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP �gained 1.1% to close at 2,818..

Apple AAPL led the gains, rising 6.2% to close at new all-time high of $446.66. On Tuesday, the tech giant posted results that Ticonderoga analyst Brian White said �crushed the most optimistic expectations.�

�We remain aggressive buyers of Apple as we believe the market continues to severely underestimate the long-term, sustainable earnings power of the company and potential for a gusher of a cash dividend in the future,� White added.

The tech sector also got a lift from Advanced Micro Devices AMD �, which gained 3.1% closing at $6.73. Late Tuesday, the chipmaker reported weaker-than-expected revenue and a sales outlook that was a tad below consensus estimates.

Click to Play Apple sets a new bar

Apple's first post-Jobs earnings report exceeded estimates, sending the stock up in overnight trading, Mark Gongloff reports on Markets Hub. (Photo: AP)

But analysts also cited AMD�s gains under new Chief Executive Rory Read. FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger highlighted what he said were the company�s �stable and profitable results as business is in transition.�

On the other hand, Nvidia NVDA saw its shares slip a fraction to close at $14.85, a day after the company cut its sales forecast, citing the impact of the Thailand flooding disaster on the hard disk drive market.

The sector was taking hits from a rash of financial reports from the likes of Corning Inc. GLW , Motorola Solutions MSI �, Molex Inc, MOLX �and Fusion-io Inc.FIO �

Molex Inc shed 3.3% to close at $26.52 after the electronics contract manufacturer reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and an outlook that also fell below consensus estimates. Molex also cited the impact of the Thailand disaster.

Corning Inc. saw its stock fall 10.7% to close at $13.05 after the maker of LCD glass used in televisions warned of sharp price declines.

Fusion-io�s�stock was off by 16%, closing at $25.50, after the maker of solid-state drives reported a wider loss.

On the positive side, shares of Guidewire Software GWRE � soared 31.7% to close at $17.12 as it made its public trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Guidewire opened at $16.75 after the company priced 8.85 million shares at $13 a share, above an expected range of $10 to $12.