Tech Stocks: A Solid ThumpingTech Stocks: A Solid Thumping

Fears of higher interest rates again trumped soaring first-quarter earnings Thursday on Wall Street. The Nasdaq and our own information 100 index slid as technology stocks in general--and semiconductor stocks in particular--were hit hard. The Dow Jones and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes eked out minor gains.

Texas Instruments shares fell 2.3%, to $28.02, despite the company's report Tuesday of solid earnings and sales gains last quarter and an improved outlook for this one. Advanced Micro Devices fell more than 5%, to $16.22 a share, and Intel shares dropped more than 2%, to $26.66. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock closed at $36.36, down 45 cents, or more than 1.2%, on very heavy trading of more than 114 million shares.

Some technology companies beat the trend. Shares of Apple Computer rose nearly 10%, to $29.30, after the company said second-quarter results should beat expectations. And IBM shares rose 0.3%, to $93.97, in anticipation of the company's first-quarter results, which were released after the market's close.

On the economic front, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose by 6,750 last week to 344,250, an increase that was widely expected because of seasonal adjustments relating to the Easter holiday. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported an increase in its manufacturing-activity index to 32.5 in April from 24.2 in March, beating economists' expectations.

Our information 100 index fell 4.83 points, or more than 1.4%, to close Thursday at 331, while the Nasdaq fell 22.68 points, or more than 1.1%, to 2,002.17. The Dow, however, rose 19.51 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,397.46, while the S&P 500 rose 0.67 points, or less than 0.1%, to finish the day at 1,128.84.

See the full listing of all the companies in the information 100 and the top 5 percentage winners and losers for the last closing at information.com/stocks.