Shares of tech stocks large and small got a last-minute (or more precisely, a last hour) boost in Friday trading. After President Trump went on television at 3 p.m. EDT and declared the coronavirus to be a "national emergency" in America, he sparked a stock rally that continued unabated all the way to the closing bell at 4 p.m. EDT.
In the cases of fiber-optic glassmaker Corning (NYSE: GLW) and communications laser-maker II-VI (NASDAQ: IIVI), the news transformed what had been a "down" day into positive profits of 11.4%, and 17.4%, respectively. In the case of semiconductor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), it took an opening price that was already up nearly 5% over Thursday's close -- and quadrupled it. Intel closed the day up a staggering 19.5%.
Image source: Getty Images.