TECH STOCKS: Techs Dip, As National Semiconductor Sinks

By Benjamin Pimentel

Technology stocks dipped Friday, as shares of National Semiconductor declined, even as Advanced Micro Devices posted gains.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) was down about 0.2% at 2,079. The tech-heavy benchmark was still up about 3% for the week.

The sector was weighed down by National Semiconductor (NSM), shares of which fell nearly 6% after the semiconductor firm posted lower quarterly profit late Thursday.

"Despite printing and guiding ahead of consensus, we did not detect an overt sense of optimism in management's tone," RBC Capital Markets analyst Mahesh Sanganeria said in a note.

However, another chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), gained 4.5%.

But this wasn't enough to keep the sector from slipping into the red.

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down a fraction, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off 1.3%.

Among the early gainers were Amazon.com (AMZN), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL).

Meanwhile, several tech players were in the red, including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG).