TECH STOCKS: Buyers Underwhelmed By Good NewsTECH STOCKS: Buyers Underwhelmed By Good News

Stocks were mixed Thursday, despite across-the-board good news on the economic front. The Nasdaq index and our own information 100 index were up for the day, but growth concerns about several blue-chip companies, including IBM, pushed the Dow down.

Despite IBM's third-quarter earnings report that generally met Wall Street expectations, the company's stock lost nearly 4% because sales were below expectations. EMC stock, in contrast, rose nearly 5% after the data-storage technology vendor reported strong earnings growth and raised its fourth-quarter forecast.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock (QQQ) closed at $35.42, up 24 cents, or 0.7%. A sluggish 65 million shares changed hands.

Thursday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank reported a jump in its regional manufacturing activity index one day after a similar report from the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Also Thursday, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to an eight-month low, to 390,750, in the week ending Oct. 11. Business inventories fell 0.4% in August.

Our information 100 index rose 0.88 points or 0.3%, to 303.64, while the Nasdaq index rose 11.04 points, or 0.6%, to finish the day at 1,950.14. The Dow fell 11.33 points, or 0.1%, to close at 9,791.72, and the S&P 500 rose 3.31 points, or 0.3%, to 1,050.07.