NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Although the broader market took a hit Thursday, tech stocks remained slightly above breakeven, partly helped by gains in the chip sector.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite index edged up 2.9 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,896.84. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index gained 3.58 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 384.20.

Nortel Networks Corp. said it willeliminate about 10 percent of its workforce, slightly less than previously estimated.

The company will also consolidate real estate in a cost-cutting plan that will save $500 million in 2005.

Shares in Nortel (NT: down $0.10 to $3.40, Research, Estimates) lost 3.1 percent.

Global semiconductor sales rose 1.1 percent to $18.2 billion in August from the previous month and it appears as though chip inventories are declining, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

And Micron Technology Inc. (MU: down $0.07 to $12.03, Research, Estimates), one of the top three computer-memory chipmakers, reported a quarterly profit Wednesday on stronger pricing, reversing a year-earlier loss.

Among tech heavyweights, Dell (DELL: up $0.16 to $35.60, Research, Estimates) shares made modest gains.

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Shares in Intel (INTC: down $0.01 to $20.06, Research, Estimates), Oracle (ORCL: down $0.15 to $11.28, Research, Estimates), Cisco (CSCO: down $0.25 to $18.06, Research, Estimates), Yahoo (YHOO: down $0.09 to $33.91, Research, Estimates), eBay (EBAY: down $0.22 to $91.94, Research, Estimates) and Google (GOOG: down $1.48 to $129.60, Research, Estimates) all declined.

In other news,IBM (IBM: up $0.76 to $85.74, Research, Estimates) will partially settle a pension-related lawsuit by taking a third-quarter charge of $320 million, in exchange for capping its potential liability at $1.4 billion. The charge settles all but two claims of an ongoing lawsuit charging that its pension plan discriminated against older workers.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: up $0.07 to $27.65, Research, Estimates) told a judge that the European Commission must be stopped from ordering it to give up secret technology to competitors.

The software giant is seeking the suspension of penalties imposed on it for violating antitrust law by using its Windows operating system monopoly to hurt competitors.

And the U.S. Senate agreed to a compromise accord that provides additional communications airwaves to police, fire and rescue organizations by forcing some television broadcasters to switch airwaves by early 2008.