CHICAGO (CNN/Money) - Technology stocks continued their slump Friday after negative comments from Dell Computer Corp. and an increased terror-alert status issued by the U.S. government.

The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 19.26 to close at 1282.47, the first time the index has finished below the 1300 mark since last October. Among tech blue chips, Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) fell 84 cents to $46.58, Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) slipped 33 cents to $15.05, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) lost 56 cents to $16.47.

After flirting with closing below the 1300 mark for the last three sessions, the Nasdaq and tech shares in general initially appeared ready to get a little bounce heading into the weekend as bargain hunters came to the fore after some encouraging economic news.

But, the Department of Homeland Security's announcement that it had increased the threat level to high from elevated scared investors away, another reminder tech shares will have a hard time gaining any traction until geopolitical uncertainties are resolved.

"With the war on Iraq still looming, people are still hesitant to put their money into stocks at this point," said Michael Legg, technology analyst at Jefferies & Co. "If we do have war with Iraq, people will understand exactly where they want to put their money.

While war jitters and terrorism concerns continue to weigh on the markets, investors were also discouraged by some disappointing financial news.

Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates) tumbled 68 cents to $23.34 after a company executive said a weak economy and war concerns would keep corporate spending on technology soft this year.

Computer services firm Eletronic Data Systems (EDS: Research, Estimates) posted lower fourth-quarter earnings and warned its first-quarter and full-year 2003 profits will miss estimates. But the company's shares, which had already lost 17 percent in 2003 as of Thursday's close, managed to rise 78 cents to $16.49.

Software maker Intuit warned it will miss its second-quarter revenue target due to the sale of a unit in Japan. The company also said it will meet its full-year earnings targets. Intuit (INTU: Research, Estimates) shares advanced 74 cents to $42.56.

Corning (GLW: Research, Estimates) shares jumped 33 cents, nearly 8 percent, to $4.53. The struggling fiber-optic cable maker said it will return to profitability in the third quarter and that its first-quarter loss should be narrower than Wall Street expectations.