Intel on Tuesday got things off to a good start for the week, reporting what it called its "." The company said income for the quarter ended March 27 skyrocketed 288 percent from the year-earlier period, to US$2.4 billion, while revenue increased 44 percent to $10.3 billion. Both microprocessor and chipset sales increased, with higher average sales prices on Core i3, i5 and i7 processors helping margins.

It would have been hard not to beat last year's first quarter, since that period marked the trough of the recession for components. However, for Intel to have had its best first quarter on record beat everyone's expectations and fed into a rising tide of optimism that is sweeping the tech industry.

Intel rival AMD on Thursday also reported having its best-ever first quarter for revenue. Revenue rose to $1.57 billion from $1.18 billion a year earlier, helping the company get back on the trail to profit. Earnings excluding one-time charges totaled $257 million, compared to a loss of $416 million for the same period in 2009.

While the focus of tech financial news lately has been on the hardware and component sectors, Internet superstar Google on Thursday joined the party. It reported that revenue for the first quarter was $6.77 billion, up 23 percent compared to the year-earlier period, while net income was $1.96 billion, compared to $1.42 billion in 2009. for both its core and newer businesses going forward.

In addition to the earnings announcements, a flurry of forecasts and market reports are helping to shore up the rising sense of confidence.