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).