Disappointing Earnings Weighs Down Tech Sector

Disappointing earnings weighed down the technology sector while blue chips advanced modestly during the midday. The Dow added 9 points to 9078 while Nasdaq lost 12 points to 1960.

On the upside

Second quarter earnings for SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA) slipped but the results soundly beat expectations prompting an upgrade.

While CA (Nasdaq: CA) reported flat earnings, revenue rose to top estimates and the business management software company forecast 2010 full year results ahead of expectations.

US Airways (NYSE: LCC) swung to a profit for the second quarter.

On the downside

Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) narrowed second quarter losses but the results still fell short.

Earnings tumbled for Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) while margin concerns weighed down shares of the chipmaker.

Second quarter earnings for MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR) plummeted as sales plunged due to the sluggish economy.

In the broad market, declining issues barely edged out advancers on the NYSE while decliners outpaced advancers by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap eased a fraction to 545.