TECH STOCKS: Techs Dip, As National Semiconductor Sinks

By Benjamin Pimentel

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

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) lost about 3 points, or 0.15%, to close at 2,081.

Still, the tech-heavy benchmark ended the week with a 3.1% gain.

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 5.6%.

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

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) eked a 0.1% gain, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down 1.4%.

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

Meanwhile, other major tech players were in the red, including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).