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).