TECH STOCKS: Standing Up To Disappointing NewsTECH STOCKS: Standing Up To Disappointing News

Hewlett-Packard's lower-than-expected quarterly earnings threw the markets into a tizzy Wednesday, pulling our indexes into the red. HP (HPQ) finished the day down a whopping 10.5%, or $2.31, at $19.80.

Other tech issues were mixed. Apple Computer (AAPL) rose 3.4%, or 69 cents, to $21.01; Red Hat (RHAT) rose 2.4%, or 17 cents, to $7.20; Siebel Systems (SEBL) rose 1.64%, or 16 cents, to $9.89; Microsoft (MSFT) fell 0.6%, or 17 cents, to $26.45; Nokia (NOK) fell 1.27%, or 20 cents, to $15.52; and Motorola (MOT) fell 1.6%, or 16 cents, to $10.04. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock fell 0.2%, or 6 cents, to $32.31, on volume of 58 million shares.

Traders eventually got over HP, and at the closing bell, things were pretty much unchanged. The information 100 rose 0.3%, or 0.91 points, to 266.11, and the Nasdaq index fell 0.03%, or 0.57 points, to 1,760.54. The Dow fell 0.3%, or 31.39 points, to 9,397.51; and the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, or 2.05 points, to 1,000.3.