TECH STOCKS: IBM, AMD Lead Tech Sector Retreat

By Benjamin Pimentel

Most technology stocks slid early Friday, weighed down by losses in shares of IBM Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices, although one analyst says the first wave of earnings point to a strengthening sector.

AMD (AMD) tumbled more than 5% in the opening minutes of the session. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker posted a narrower quarterly loss on Thursday, but lingering concerns about the company's ability to compete remain.

"With the loss situation projected to continue through 2010 despite improved sales and margin estimates, we recommend investors remain on the sidelines with AMD pending evidence of significant improvement in operational performance," Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Kevin Cassidy said in a note.

Meanwhile, IBM (IBM) shares also sank more than 4%, after Big Blue on Thursday reported a 14% jump in third-quarter earnings, but also posted sales declines in some of its biggest businesses.

Overall, the fist wave of tech earnings reports, particularly from IBM and Intel Corp. (INTC), has reinforced the view of a rebounding sector, propelled by strong consumer demand and a corporate market poised for an up tick.

"From the read so far from Intel, IBM, the Asia-Pacific supply chain vendors and distributors, overall technology spending continues to hold up relatively better in this difficult macroeconomic environment," Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said in a note. "Consumer is better than expected while enterprise is seeing stabilization and in some cases a rebound."

A bright spot for tech on Friday came from Google Inc. (GOOG), shares of which rose more than 3% after the Internet behemoth topped Wall Street's projections.

But IBM and AMD set the pace for the sector retreat, as the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 1.2% to 2,146.

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down 1.8%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off 2.6%.

Gains from Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL).

But other major tech players were in the red, including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Apple Inc. (AAPL)