Palo Alto-based software company VMware, Inc. (VMW) continued leading the pack in early trading — a trend it has enjoyed for much of this week — with shares up nearly 7 percent Wednesday. SunPower Corporation (SPWR) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) were also up. The success of Santa Clara-based NVIDIA comes on the heels of an announcement of an award from the Global Semiconductor Alliance touting its products and vision.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) was down nearly 2 percent, with Verisign, Inc. (VRSN) and BEA Systems, Inc. (BEAS) also losing some traction.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) continued its trend of high morning trading, with more than 16 million shares changing hands. Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and Intel Corporation (INTC) continued their own trends of high trading.

Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index is trending upward at nearly one percent, currently sitting above 13,500 points.

In other stock news, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) said Wednesday it will be distributing financial Web site video and articles generated by CNBC, a business news network. Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest personal computer maker, said, per analysts' projections, it will see slower revenue growth in 2009.