Technology stocks within the S&P 500 have been top performers year-to-date and are getting another lift from merger activity in the semiconductor space.
According to FactSet, the industry sectors that experienced the biggest increase in M&A deal activity for the three-month period from February to April of this year relative to the same period the previous year was technology services (519 vs. 440). And no sector within tech has been more active than semiconductors.
Sparking the deal activity among semiconductor stocks was chipmaker Avago's $37 billion purchase of Broadcom in May, the largest ever in the semiconductor field. The Broadcom deal was subsequently followed by an impressive $16.7 billion acquisition of Altera by Intel.
