By Benjamin Pimentel

The tech sector sank into the red Wednesday, weighed down by losses in shares of Juniper Networks, Brocade Communications and Cisco Systems.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) lost 0.7% to close at 2,131 in a volatile trading session. The tech-heavy benchmark was also down 0.1% for the week.

Three giants of the networking-gear industry did much of the damage, as Brocade (BRCD) retreated 3.9%, while Cisco (CSCO) fell 2.6% and Juniper Networks (JNPR) lost about 3%.

On Wednesday, Baird & Co. downgraded Juniper, saying, "at current prices we feel the stock is already reflecting an improved and bullish 2010 outlook."

On the positive side, shares of Xilinx (XLNX) jumped 4.9% after the San Jose, Calif.-based company said it expects sales to rise roughly 10% sequentially. Previously, the company had expected sales to increase by roughly 2% to 6% sequentially.

The sector also got a boost from gains in shares of Research In Motion (RIMM), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Texas Instruments (TXN).

Shares of Electronic Arts (ERTS) jumped 7.1% on rumors that Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was considering buying the video-game publisher. Microsoft was off a fraction.

Shares of Palm (PALM) also declined slightly after the wireless device maker priced a public offering of 20 million shares at $16.25 a share.

The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also was behind 0.5%, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was up 0.5%.

Other major tech players also were in positive territory, including Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).

However, other companies were in the red, including Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Google Inc. (GOOG) and eBay Inc. (EBAY).