The Battle Road Tech Index™ rose 1.7 percent for the week ended December 4, 2009, closing at 1617. For the week, 19 of the 25 Index components appreciated in value. Year-to-date, the index is up 62 percent, having started at a value of 1000.

The following companies were notable movers for the week:

Shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC, $20.46) rose 7.1 percent for the week following a report Monday from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The SIA reported that global semiconductor sales were up 5.1 percent sequentially in October, boosted by higher production in advance of the holidays. Worldwide semiconductor sales were $21.7 billion, down 3.5 percent from the prior year. Although this may point to continued high demand for electronics, it is in contrast to other recent reports pointing to unfavorable inventory levels that may overshoot true consumption levels.

The report from the SIA also bodes well for Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN, $26.85), which rose 6.3 percent over the week. Strong notebook demand has driven growth, in addition to solid handset sales. Component availability headwinds still afflict the PC industry, though, which could trickle down to affect inventory levels in the channel.

Shares of Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM, $24.98), along with its distant closest competitor Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW, $3.85), climbed this week, rising 4.4 percent amid optimism that technology spending is rebounding. While Akamai benefits from macro trends such as advertising moving from traditional media to the internet and the transition to on-demand computing models, the slowing economy is delaying inevitable elements of its growth story. With investors expecting an upswing in the economy in 2010, Akamai’s financials will follow suit.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN, $137.58) shares rose by 4.4 percent over the last week, on the heels of strong Cyber Monday web commerce reports. In addition, Amazon.com stands to benefit from recent delays and possible supply chain bottlenecks facing competitor, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS, $21.61), whose ebook reader, the Nook, will not be available widely until later in December. This will enable Amazon.com to maintain its lead in the market. Amazon’s recent television advertising for its Kindle will likely lure more would be ebook readers into the fold. Amazon.com also announced its answer to cash for clunkers with a textbook conversion program that allows students and other owners of textbooks to trade them in for an Amazon.com gift card.

Shares of Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI, $11.03) fell by 4.8 percent, even as the company announced a five day sale through of $550 million for its its Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 video game release. Perhaps selling on the news, investors have, moreover, become cautious on the video game makers as they become the most recent casualty of the intensifying price war between Walmart, Amazon.com and other video game retailers.