NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sharp declines in some of the bigger names weighed on the technology sector Wednesday as the broader market headed higher in the wake of the release of some investor-friendly economic data.
Although there were some noteworthy winners, a sharp slide in some key names on Nasdaq tempered a bullish tone that came over the market after the government reported new home sales figures that indicated that the economy cooled last month.
Shares of Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) were the most actively traded on Nasdaq, falling 2 to 39-9/16, a 4.8 percent decline on the day.
US Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar on Tuesday adjusted his rating on the world's No. 2 PC supplier to "buy" from "strong buy," citing concerns about its long-term revenue potential and a lack of earnings power in some of its key product areas.
"We continue to believe that Dell does not have adequate earnings power in notebooks, server and non-system revenue to offset the secular weakness in consumer and commercial desktops," Kumar wrote in a note to clients.
"While we expect Dell to continue to deliver on the bottom line, we are skeptical that the company will be able to meet the 30 percent revenue growth expectations on a sustainable basis," he added.
Several other computer equipment makers also fell. The Goldman Sachs computer hardware index slipped 5.15 to 554.02.
Networking-equipment giant Cisco Systems (CSCO: Research, Estimates) was right behind Dell in the most-active column on Nasdaq. Its shares fell 2-1/4, or 3.6 percent, to 60-15/16.
Semiconductor leader Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) also weighed on Nasdaq, sinking 1-5/16 to 63-5/16. Meanwhile, JDS Uniphase (JDSU: Research, Estimates), a leading supplier of components for fiber-optic communications networks, tumbled 4-1/4 to 112-5/8, a 3.6 percent decline.
 The Nasdaq composite index ended the session 27.06 lower at 3658.46.
But while Dell and Cisco weighed heavily on Nasdaq, Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates) helped lift the Dow Jones industrial index, which added 80.58 to 10687.53.
HP shares rose 4-5/8 to 112-1/2, a 4.3 percent gain. The company on Wednesday teamed with AT&T (T: Research, Estimates) to develop hardware, software and networking solutions for global companies and dot.coms that do business online.
Bear Stearns also upped its third-quarter earnings estimates for HP to 85 cents per share from 80 cents per share on Wednesday.
AT&T shares slipped 11/16, or 2.2 percent, to 31-5/16.
Sapient soars
Also on the upside in the tech sector Wednesday, shares of Internet consulting firm Sapient (SAPE: Research, Estimates) surged 16-15/16, or 16.3 percent, to 120-13/16. The company on Tuesday turned in second-quarter profit that beat the analysts' estimate by 3 cents and revenue that nearly doubled from a year ago. The company also set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Deutsche Bank Alex Brown was one of several brokerages showering Sapient's results with praise, repeating "strong buy" rating due to what it called an "outstanding quarter and strong metrics."
 Analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston likewise applauded Sapient's numbers, calling it a "blowout" quarter, and repeated their "strong buy" recommendation. They also raised 2000 and 2001 revenue and earnings-per-share estimates, calling the stock a "core holding in the information-technology services space."
Global Crossing (GBLX: Research, Estimates) also got a boost after reporting its latest quarterly results. Shares added 2-9/16, or 10.1 percent, to 27-7/8. The company posted a smaller-than-expected second-quarter loss of $504.2 million, or 61 cents a share, beating estimates by 2 cents.
Computer Sciences (CSC: Research, Estimates), a provider of computer services to government and commercial customers, added 2-7/8 to 70-11/16. Nortel Networks (NT: Research, Estimates) said Wednesday it will pay CSC roughly $3 billion over seven years to outsource its global information services functions. Shares of Nortel ended the session unchanged at 72.
Shares of recent IPO Avici Systems (AVCI: Research, Estimates) gained 24-1/2, or 22.3 percent, to 132. The company, which makes fiber-optic networking equipment, went public last Friday. Avici competitor Corvis (CORV: Research, Estimates), which also made its debut Friday, rose 4-3/4, or 5.5 percent, to 91.
Software makers also advanced in Wednesday's session. The Goldman Sachs computer software index gained 5.01, or 1.3 percent, to 403.52.
Siebel Systems (SEBL: Research, Estimates) shares were among the biggest winners, rising 10-1/2 to 150-1/8, a 7.5 percent gain on the day. Intuit also gained sharply, adding 4-3/16 to 39-3/16, a 12 percent rise. Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) ended the session 11/16 higher at 69-3/8, a 1 percent advance on the day.
Analyst actions
Adaptec (ADPT: Research, Estimates) dipped fell 1 to 23, a 4.2 percent decline on the day. Bear Stearns analyst Andrew Neff on Wednesday dropped research coverage of the computer electronic card maker. "We believe Adaptec is not a compelling storage networking story at this point, as we think most of the value of ADPT shares lies in its software business," said Neff.
The company announced in June that it would spin off the software unit. "Once the company takes steps to monetize value in its software unit, [through an IPO, spin-off, or an outright sale] we believe ADPT shares don't look compelling given that we expect its core business ... to experience flat to down sales."
Computer chipmaker Xilinx (XLNX: Research, Estimates) shares rose 4-5/16, or 6.1 percent, to 75-5/16. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Tim Mahon raised his revenue and earnings estimates based on guidance the company gave Tuesday concerning its quarterly bookings in July. Mahon also repeated his "strong buy" rating and $100 price target.
Chase H&Q analyst David Levy cut his investment rating on Juno Online Services (JWEB: Research, Estimates) to "market perform" from "buy," citing "bleak growth prospects." Its shares plunged 2-1/16, or 22.3 percent, to 7-3/16.
The company reported a second-quarter net loss of $42.9 million, or $1.11 a share, on Tuesday, compared with a net loss of $17.3 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago.
Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates) rose 1-3/4, or 5 percent, to 36-3/4, following positive comments after the company held an analyst meeting Tuesday.
Walter Piecyk at PaineWebber said "management reiterated their confidence in the strength of the wireless industry and their own ability to execute on current revenue and EPS expectations."
Piecyk said he believes that Motorola's new product lineup will result in mobile phone margins of 6.5 percent in the third quarter and 10 percent in the fourth quarter. 
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