Leading the early charge are semiconductor stocks, on an upgrade by Merrill Lynch (MER). In its report, the Big Broke basically repeated the observation of Salomon Smith Barney chip guru John Joseph: "It can't get any worse." Merrill's list is long: Analog Devices (ADI), Linear Technology (LLTC), Maxim Integrated (MXIM), STMicroelectronics (STM), RF Micro Devices (RFMD), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), United Microelectronics (UMC), Chartered Semiconductor (CHRT), Semtech (SMTC), Texas Instruments (TXN) and Micron Technology (MU). As one can observe, Merrill's enthusiasm for the chip makers is global in scope. However, we're not finished. Merrill also upgraded chip-equipment companies: Applied Materials (AMAT), KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Lam Research (LRCX), Novellus Systems (NVLS), MKS Instruments (MKSI) and Teradyne (TER). In other chip news, Microsemi (MSCC) said after the bell Tuesday that shareholders approved the necessary increase in the number of authorized shares to effect a two-for-one stock split payable Aug. 28.
