NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Dow Jones industrial average broke a two-session winning streak Wednesday, following a weak report out of Hewlett-Packard, while select tech buying pushed the Nasdaq composite to its third day of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54.46 to 10,243.68; the index briefly moved into positive territory at midday, but failed to sustain those gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 6.21 to 1,091.07. The Nasdaq composite index closed up 6.51 at 1,725.56, after being down more than 1 percent in the early morning.

"It was the normal consolidation today (Wednesday) after two days of really good market action, but there's just no follow through. We rallied on a few pieces of news, but there's no sense of a broader recovery," Kenneth Polcari, managing director at Polcari/Weicker told CNNfn's Street Sweep.

Tech investors took in mixed forecasts from Hewlett-Packard and BEA Systems ahead of quarterly results from Dell Computer due Thursday and news from an IBM (IBM: down $0.98 to $84.50, Research, Estimates) security analyst meeting, due out late Wednesday.

After the bell Thursday, investors will learn how computer hardware maker Dell Computer (DELL: up $0.80 to $27.70, Research, Estimates) performed in its first quarter. Last month, the PC maker said its results should come in at 16 cents a share, in line with estimates. The company earned 17 cents a share in the same period one year earlier.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers 8-to-7 as 1.39 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, advancers edged decliners as 2.23 billion shares traded.

Investors took in conflicting reports on the well-being of the tech sector, limiting the range of motion for the major indexes.

Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: down $1.15 to $19.35, Research, Estimates) reported a fiscal second-quarter profit, excluding the recently acquired Compaq Computer, that met forecasts on a per-share basis but missed on revenue. HP also said it didn't expect to see stronger information technology spending until next year.

Business software developer BEA Systems (BEAS: up $0.30 to $11.50, Research, Estimates) cut its revenue forecast for the fiscal year, saying that business conditions remain unstable. The company also reported first-quarter results that met estimates but showed a sharp decline from the same period a year earlier. Following the news, Wachovia Securities cut its earnings estimates.

In addition, Nasdaq halted trading in cable company Adelphia Communications (ADLAE: unchanged at $5.70, Research, Estimates) after the company announced the resignation of its founder and CEO. The exchange said the stock will remain halted until the company provides what it terms "sufficient information." The news comes as the company is facing a U.S. government investigation into its accounting practices and a day before Nasdaq determines whether it will be delisted.

Countering the negative pull was encouraging news out of No. 1 chip-equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT: up $0.11 to $26.75, Research, Estimates), which reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts' estimates. The company also said that it is in the first phase of a recovery.

In addition, Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of media company and CNN/Money parent AOL Time Warner (AOL: up $0.30 to $18.85, Research, Estimates) to "buy" from "neutral," saying the stock is starting to look attractive at its current levels. Shares of business software maker Oracle (ORCL: up $0.38 to $9.19, Research, Estimates) got a boost on trader talk that the company is in good shape to meet its quarterly forecast, according to Briefing.com.

Qualcomm (QCOM: up $1.39 to $32.07, Research, Estimates), the wireless technology developer, rose after Credit Suisse First Boston said the company gave an upbeat presentation at a conference in Phoenix. The stock also benefited from a bit of a technical bounce, following recent selling, John Bucher, an analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison, told CNNfn.

"The action is fairly positive," said Bill Roe, portfolio manager at Melhado Flynn & Associates. "People are showing a willingness to take a 'wait and see' approach after the runup, instead of selling it off even more."

In the day's economic news, the Consumer Price Index, the government's main inflation gauge, rose 0.5 percent in April, when economists were expecting CPI to rise 0.4 percent. CPI rose 0.3 percent in March.

Business inventories fell 0.3 percent in March after falling a revised 0.2 percent in February; economists were looking for a decline of 0.2 percent.

Industrial production rose 0.4 percent last month, in line with estimates and slower than the 0.7 percent increase seen in March. Capacity use rose to 75.5 percent, just about in line with expectations.

Treasurys were higher, with the 10-year note yield at 5.24 percent. In global trade, European bourses closed mostly higher, as did Asian markets. The dollar was a little stronger versus the euro and slightly weaker versus the yen. Light crude oil futures lost $1.19 to $27.21 a barrel in New York.

"We've had pretty sizable gains in the last two days, so you're seeing a little rotating out of sectors and some profit taking," said Bryan Piskorowski, market commentator at Prudential Financial. "Last week we had a one-hit wonder. This week we're trying to see if we can do a little better."