Semis Underperfomed the S&P 500 :VECO, MKSI, ALTR

Published on Monday, 27 August 2012 16:51 Written by Christian Paolinetti

New York, August 27th (TradersHuddle.com) - The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index traded lower at $397.5, representing -0.36% from its previous close. The semiconductor index had a negative day with only 10 index components trading higher.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) was the top performer of the semis, as it traded at $33.45, which represents 1.3%. from the previous trading session. Shares of Veeco Instruments, the provider of process equipment solutions have defined support at $32.74 and resistance at $36.77.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) was also among the top performers, closing the trading session at $27.04 representing 0.97% from its previous close. MKS Instruments, the provider of instruments and components used to measure, control, analyze and isolate gases in semiconductor and other manufacturing processes has calculated support and resistance levels at $26.11 and $27.91 respectively. The other top performer of the semis was Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR), which traded at $36.48 representing 0.36% from the previous trading session.

The semis' worst performers include Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN) that traded at $8.7 or -3.23% from the previous close. Shares of Rubicon Technology, the high-quality sapphire substrates and optical windows have defined support at $8.45 and resistance at $9.79. Also among the worst performers was MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR), which closed at $2.79 representing -3.13% from the previous trading session.

Today, the semis underperformed the broad market index S&P 500.