Nasdaq Defies Downturn as AMD Buys Xilinx

The U.S. stock market was generally weaker on Tuesday, but that didn't stop the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) from posting gains. As we've seen on several occasions in the past, optimism about the growth prospects for top stocks in the technology sector has played a key role in lifting the Nasdaq even when the rest of the stock market has been on the decline. The big news of the day among Nasdaq stocks was that Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has decided to move forward with plans to acquire programmable chip specialist Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX).