Microsoft, IBM gains offset Google loss

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Tech stocks put in a largely upbeat trading session Friday, led by gains in shares of Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp., and helping overcome losses from Google Inc.

Click to Play Google: What Happened?

Google's fourth-quarter earnings rose but came in below analysts' targets, which hit the stock. Currency and tax issues, combined with a recent rally, set up the shares for a fall, according to tech editor Dan Gallagher. He talks with Lauren Rudser. (Photo: AP)

Microsoft�s MSFT �shares climbed 5.7% to end the day at $29.71 and put in their highest closing point since May 2010. The world�s largest software company benefitted from quarterly results that grew from a year ago.

Microsoft was seen as having a good report even as consumer-PC sales declined due to the fallout from last year�s flooding in Thailand. Read more about reaction to Microsoft�s results.

Maynard Um, an analyst with UBS, said Microsoft�s report suggested that the general trends in the PC market are still continuing to be felt across the industry.

/quotes/zigman/20493/quotes/nls/msft MSFT 28.51, -0.05, -0.16%

�Microsoft noted most of the PC market decline was from hard-disk drive supply shortages, with the impact not limited to any specific region,� Um said, in a research note.

IBM IBM �also got a lift, rising $8 a share, or 4.4%, to $188.52. Late Thursday the tech-services leader reported an increase in its fourth-quarter earnings and raised its full-year profit estimates to at least $14.85 a share. Read more about IBM's results.

Intel Corp. INTC �also got a boost, rising 75 cents a share to $26.38. After Thursday�s market close, Intel reported fourth-quarter profit of $3.4 billion, or 64 cents a share, compared with $3.2 billion, or 56 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose to $13.9 billion from $11.5 billion. Read more about Intel's fourth-quarter results.

But Google GOOG �never found its footing, as its stock fell by $53.58 a share, or 8.4%, to close at $585.99. Late Thursday, Google reported that fourth-quarter earnings rose from a year ago, but its results still fell short of Wall Street analysts� forecasts.

Google said its earnings reflected several factors, includling currency rates, an impairment charge and a 35% increase in its operating expenses from a year ago. Read more about Google's quarterly report.

The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP �ended up shedding 1.6 points to close at 2,786. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index SOX �edged upward, but the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index MSH �slipped into the red.

Among other leading tech stocks, gains came from Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ �, Dell Inc. DELL �, Oracle Corp. ORCL and Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO ��