NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Intel Corp. rose the most in four months in Nasdaq trading after its revenue forecast topped analysts' estimates, indicating that shoppers in Asia are helping reignite demand for personal computers.

Sales will be as much as $8.9 billion in the current quarter, Intel said yesterday. That compares with an average estimate of $7.86 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

PC makers are boosting orders for chips in anticipation of increasing demand in the second half, chief executive officer Paul Otellini said. While businesses probably won't start buying new PCs until next year, consumers in Asia — especially China - are leading the recovery, he said. Intel reported a 12 percent jump in second-quarter sales from the previous three months, the largest sequential increase since 1988.

"Intel's results reflect the stabilising environment," said Patrick Wang, a New York-based analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Wang, who rates the stock "outperform", owns the shares personally. "It was a superb quarter for them."

Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, jumped $1.11, or 6.6 percent, to $17.94 at 9:48 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The gain was the largest since March. Before today, the shares had gained 15 percent this year.

Intel's Asia-Pacific sales were $4.41 billion last quarter, up 21 percent from the first quarter. Sales in the Americas rose 12 percent sequentially, while Europe dropped 9.4 percent.

The forecast helped shares of chipmakers and PC manufacturers advance in Asian and European trading.

Samsung Electronics Co., Asia's biggest semiconductor maker, gained 5.5 percent in Seoul to close at the highest since June 20, 2008. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-largest computer-memory maker, rose 5.1 percent. Toshiba Corp., Japan's biggest chipmaker, added as much as three percent.

STMicroelectronics NV, Europe's largest chipmaker, rose as much as 7.1 percent in Milan. ASML Holding NV, Europe's biggest maker of chip equipment, said today that sales this quarter will increase from the second quarter as customers resume investments. ASML rose as much as 4.4 percent in Amsterdam.

Acer Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of laptop computers, climbed 3.8 percent in Taipei. Wistron Corp., the world's third-biggest contract producer of laptop computers, gained 5.1 percent.

Intel set aside funds in the second quarter to pay a $1.45 billion European Union fine, resulting in its first loss in 22 years. The net loss was $398 million, or 7 cents a share, versus a profit of $1.6 billion, or 28 cents, a year earlier.

The European Union announced the fine in May, saying the company used illegal rebates to thwart competitors. Intel, which accounts for about 80 percent of the PC processor market, is appealing the decision.

Excluding the European fine, Intel reported a profit of 18 cents a share. That topped the average analyst estimate of 8 cents. Revenue fell 15 percent from a year earlier to $8.02 billion, compared with the $7.29 billion predicted by analysts.

There is "a clear expectation for a seasonally stronger second half", Otellini said on a conference call.

The gross margin, the percentage of sales remaining after excluding costs of production, will be about 53 percent this quarter, Intel said. Chris Danely, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in San Francisco, had predicted 51 percent.