CHICAGO (CNN/Money) - Technology stocks posted mixed results Friday as profit-taking in the semiconductor sector offset an upbeat earnings report from Adobe Systems.

After Thursday's 4.8 percent jump, the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.53 to close at 1,340.24, according to preliminary results. Among other tech indexes, the Morgan Stanley 35 gained 1.52 to 292.82, while the Amex Technology Index climbed 1.41 to 507.05.

Thursday's rally was largely viewed as a technical bounce that propped up oversold stocks. While technology shares have held up well compared with the broader market, stock strategists say investors are still waiting for the geopolitical situation to clear up before making a full return to the market.

Tech investors have also had to deal with some downbeat industry forecasts from individual companies and industry groups. Earlier Friday, market-research firm International Data Corp. said the outlook for PC shipments in 2003 has weakened due to a decline in spending from the public sector.

Among PC makers, Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) slid 39 cents to $26.50, but Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) advanced 67 cents to $15.67, and Apple (AAPL: Research, Estimates) gained 6 cents to $14.78.

With the IDC's report coming on the heels of some downbeat forecasts from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel, much of the optimism that greeted tech issues at the beginning of the year has waned.

"It appears, given Intel's guidance lower, that things are significantly slower now than we saw in the fourth quarter coming into December," said Michael Davies, analyst at Caris & Co. "Things are a little weaker than they were."

Stock watchers have been anticipating a "wartime rally" in the event that the U.S. does move forward with its plans to bring military action against Iraq. But Davies notes that current stock valuations and corporate fundamentals don't bode well for a sustained rally in tech shares.

"I'm not sure we're that oversold right now, given that P/E ratios are still high relative to what we perceived the forward-looking earnings to be," Davies said. "When we go through the next month and we start to see the first quarter results, I think the expectations are going to come down. With that, it's going to be difficult to sustain much higher growth unless we get some greater visibility."

One note of optimism that greeted tech investors today came from Adobe Systems (ADBE: Research, Estimates), which shot up $2.27, or 8 percent, to $30.79 after the graphics software maker reported strong fiscal first-quarter profits and revenue. Robert W. Baird upgraded its rating on Adobe stock to "outperform" from "neutral."

Elsewhere, investors took some profits from the semiconductor sector after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index's 8 percent jump Thursday. The Sox, as it is called, fell 5.22 to close at 305.17.

Among individual chip issues, Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) fell 18 cents to $17.17, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Research, Estimates) slipped 2 cents to $5.77, and Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates) lost 29 cents to $12.37.