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AMD losses pace down day for tech stocks

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks slumped late and put in another negative session on Tuesday, with losses from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Applied Materials Inc. highlighting the sector's glum performance.

AMD (AMD) shares fell 63 cents, or more than 11%, to close at $4.99 after the chip maker pre-announced its second-quarter results that included weaker-than-expected sales Read more about AMD results.

Applied Materials (AMAT) shares were trimmed by 30 cents, or 2.7%, to end the day at $10.71 after the world's largest chip-equipment maker said it expects its annual sales to fall below prior estimates. Read more about Applied Materials new forecast.

Mattson Technology Inc. (MTSN) also took it on the chin, as the chip-equipment maker's shares fell by 54 cents, or more than 32%, to close at $1.13. The company cut its second-quarter sales and earnings forecasts, due mainly to delay in products from one customer.

Other chip stocks in the red included Micron Technology Inc. (MU) , down 5% to close at $6.16 and Rambus Inc. (RMBS) , which gave up almost 5% to end the day at $5.07. Declines also came from NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) , Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) and ARM Holdings PLC. (ARMH) .

The chip weakness weighed on tech-heavy market gauges. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) , which had a double-digit gain after the market opened, gave up all of that to fall 29 points, or 1%, and close at 2,902. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) ended the day with a loss of 2.3% and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) shed 1.4%.

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) was one of the tech sector's few bright spots, as its shares rose $4.11, or 8.5%, to close at $52.57 after Intel Corp. (INTC) said Monday that it would invest more than $3 billion in the Dutch chip maker, and fund another $1 billion in research and development activities at the company.

The latter investment is centered around the development of 450-millimeter wafer technology and extreme ultraviolet lithography. Read more about Intel's dealings with ASML

Another gainer on the Intel-ASML news was Cymer(CYMI) which makes laser products used in lithography tools. Patrick Ho of Stifel Nicolaus wrote in a note that Cymer is an "underlying beneficiary" of the deal, given the company's leadership role as a light-source provider for this technology. Cymer shares rose $4.47, or 8% to, $61.17.

Intel shares fell 61 cents, or 2.3%, to close at $25.56.

Among other tech stocks, Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) shares fell 38 cents, or 5%, to close at $7.29. The troubled maker of the BlackBerry smartphone held its annual shareholders meeting Tuesday, and its board made a statement of support for RIM's current management team, but said it was also seeking new board members. Read full story on RIM's annual meeting.

Small gains came from Dell Inc. (DELL) , Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) and Western Digital Corp. (WDC) .