The $320 Billion Bogey Needed to Placate Stock Market Bulls

Few have benefited more from the U.S. bull market that started in 2009 than technology companies, and none are being counted on more by investors to deliver the earnings needed to keep it going.

As a group, the computer and biotechnology stocks that make up the Nasdaq 100 Index have seen their market value jump by $3.3 trillion since March 2009, more than any other industry. Now they’re on the hook to generate $320 billion in profits this year, more than technology companies ever made at the height of the Internet craze.