By Benjamin Pimentel

The tech sector battled back into the black Wednesday as shares of Xilinx Inc. soared after the chip maker raised its quarterly sales outlook.

Shares of Xilinx (XLNX) jumped more than 5% after the San Jose, Calif.-based company said it expects sales to rise roughly 10% sequentially. Previously, the company had expected sales to increase by roughly 2% to 6% sequentially.

The sector also got a boost from gains in shares of Research In Motion (RIMM), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Texas Instruments (TXN).

These advances helped offset the decline in shares of Juniper Networks (JNPR), which tumbled after the networking gear maker was downgraded to neutral by Baird & Co.

Juniper (JNPR) shares were down more than 2% after Baird analyst Kenneth Muth downgraded the company, saying, "at current prices we feel the stock is already reflecting an improved and bullish 2010 outlook."

Meanwhile, shares of Palm (PALM) gained a fraction after the wireless device maker priced a public offering of 20 million shares at $16.25 a share.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was up a fraction at 2,149. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also was ahead 0.3%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) added about 1.5%.

Other major tech players also were in positive territory, including Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).

However, other companies were in the red, including Cisco Systems (CSCO), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and eBay Inc. (EBAY).