TECH STOCKS: Mixed ResultsTECH STOCKS: Mixed Results

Disappointing news about the economy coupled with some strong earnings resulted in a mixed market Monday. Our information 100 index slipped as other indexes ended higher. "We all tend to bury our heads in the sand during earnings season because there's so much data to process," Richard A. Dickson, senior market strategist at Lowry's Research Reports, told The Associated Press. "It takes time to extrapolate it and to understand how it affects the market as a whole."

The information 100 fell 1.04 points, or 0.4%, to 295.58 after the Conference Board said its Index of Economic Indicators dropped 0.2% in September, slightly less than analysts had expected. It was the first drop in the index in half a year. But the Nasdaq Composite rose 12.78 points, or 0.7%, to 1,925.14. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.15 points, or 0.6%, to 9,777.94, and the S&P 500 rose 5.36 points, or 0.5%, to 1,044.68.

Several technology stocks posted higher earnings, sending their stocks skyward. Informatica (INFA) reported that its third-quarter net loss shriveled from the same period last year to $184,000, or less than a penny a share, raising the stock price by 7.4%.

PMC-Sierra (PMCS) rose 5.4% as the maker of high-capacity communications and storage chips posted a 5.9% increase in revenue and a profit of $3.2 million, or 2 cents a share, versus a loss of $9.2 million, or 5 cents a share, a year ago. Investors in the U.S. shares of electronics maker NEC (NIPNY) sent the stock up 6% in hopes of a favorable earnings report later this week.