The Nasdaq Computer index was down 10.80 points to 1,639.21 at the close of trading Friday. As IT sales results were mixed, so too was market reaction. Of major tech vendors reporting results this week, Microsoft ended up by US$1.41 to $32.42 and Yahoo ticked upward by $0.21 to $15.60. However, Intel was down $0.09 to $27.60; Advanced Micro Devices was down $0.21 to $7.76; EMC dropped $0.20 to $27.90 and Qualcomm was down $0.31 to $62.25.

The tepid reaction to tech came as broad indexes including the Standard and Poor's 500 made gains for the day and the week. Those gains were part of a generally positive mood on the markets at the end of the week, as signs of good news in Europe helped quell fears that recession and sovereign debt default would drag down sales for major U.S. companies.

For example, several major newspapers, attributing Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak, reported that finance officials in the Group of 20 industrial and developing countries are working to aid the International Monetary Fund plans shore up countries that are in danger of defaulting on debt to international lenders. In addition, various surveys from Europe reported that German business confidence rose in April, and that retail sales in the U.K. for March beat expectations.

Microsoft, that Windows sales to corporations in the first quarter were strong, was one of the major tech vendors that appeared to avoid the downbeat attitude toward tech.

"The business PC is what really drove the Windows business," said CFO Peter Klein, according to a of the company's earnings conference call.