Intel, the main chip bellwether, Tuesday reported that net income grew 12 percent year-over-year in the third quarter, to $2 billion. But the chipmaker also said sales in the current quarter will range between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion, which would at best give the company a weak holiday season quarter, and possibly, an actual decline from the third to fourth quarter for the first time since 2000.

In the online commerce arena, eBay Wednesday reported it swung to a profit, generating a third-quarter net income of $492.2 million, up from a net loss of $935.6 million a year earlier. But a weak outlook for the fourth quarter caused eBay shares to drop by $0.36 Thursday to $14.97. For the fourth quarter, eBay expects revenue between $2.02 billion and $2.17 billion, lower than the forecast of $2.44 billion by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The worst big-name IT vendor report this week was from mobile phone giant Nokia, whose third-quarter earnings plunged 28 percent from last year, to €1.09 billion (US$1.5 billion). Mobile phone sales are seen to be especially susceptible to a consumer spending slowdown. Nevertheless, Nokia forecast increasing sales for the rest of the year and 10 percent growth for the industry as a whole.

On Thursday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 89.38 points, or 5.49 percent, closing at 1717.71. The broader Dow index jumped 401.35 points, or 4.68 percent, to close at 8979.26. While initial reaction to IT earnings reports appears positive, wide swings in the market have been the norm for the past few weeks.