TECH STOCKS: IBM, AMD Lead Tech-sector Retreat

By Benjamin Pimentel

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

Thursday's batch of earnings yielded a split decision.

AMD (AMD) tumbled about 8% in the session. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker posted a narrower quarterly loss Thursday, but concerns linger about the company's ability to compete.

"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 reported a 14% jump in third-quarter earnings Thursday, but also posted sales declines in some of its biggest businesses.

A bright spot came from Google Inc. (GOOG), shares of which rose more than 4% after the Internet behemoth topped Wall Street's projections.

But overall, the first 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."

Still, IBM's and AMD's share declines set the pace for the sector retreat, as the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) fell 0.6% to 2,160. Other major tech players were also in the red, including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) was down 1.2%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was off 2.2%.

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