Earnings reports from a few brand - name tech party last workweek help cushion worries about the U.S. job grocery store , geopolitical concerns affecting oil Leontyne Price , and a weak get-go for trading in the young year . Still , overall investor confidence seemed shaky through most of last week .

The Nasdaq interchange sink at the commencement of the week , as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. ( AMD ) tell last Monday that it wait revenue would be up only slightly from the US$ 1.24 billion give in the 2003 fourth quarter . Wall Street analysts cut their ratings on the company , after which AMD share monetary value plunk on the New York Stock Exchange by $ 3.44 to $ 16.69 . The stock continued to fall during the workweek , heading toward $ 15 .

On Tuesday a strong report from Intel Corp. was credited with help restore investor confidence in the chip sector . Intel shares gained $ 0.62 to $ 23.16 on the Nasdaq Wednesday , but then settle down , move below $ 23 toward the end of the calendar week . The company reported that it had shipped record numbers of processors for servers and notebooks , and generated US$ 9.6 billion in revenue during the 2004 4th quarter , up 10 pct from the fourth quartern of 2003 .

Midweek was mar by a report of an unexpected increase in unemployment claims , and a acclivity in crude oil prices due to concerns about ferocity link to the upcoming Iraq elections .

A firm Wednesday reputation from Apple Computer Inc. was wide credited for subdue what would have been a worse wide decline on U.S. interchange . Apple reported US$ 3.5 billion in revenue for the first quarter of its 2005 financial class due to a huge increase in iPod sale . The party also set a record for net income , with $ 295 million in profits for the quarter . Shares in Apple ( AAPL ) on the Nasdaq jumped about 9 percent , at one point Thursday surpassing the company ’s 52 - week high of $ 70.70 .

The history was unlike for Sun Microsystems Inc. , which on Thursday reported a slight increase in pay , in line with Wall Street expectation , but a worrying decline in revenue for its second financial quarter , which cease Dec. 26 . The caller report profits of $ 19 million , or $ 0.01 per contribution , but a declination of 1.16 percent in receipts , to $ 2.84 billion from the $ 2.89 billion generate during the society ’s 2004 second quarter . analyst poll by Thomson First Call expected revenue to be $ 2.93 billion , and the shortfall presaged a drop curtain in investor confidence as the company ’s part price declined in after - hours trading , slipping from $ 4.58 to $ 4.36 in the former even . Sun shares continued to shine last Friday , closing at $ 4.22

The overall chemical reaction to the mixed earnings reports during the hebdomad suggested that the Nasdaq , despite the few bright smirch , may not move up quickly from its down first week of the class . By the end of the twenty-four hours Friday , however , the Nasdaq and other exchanges and exponent recovered some of the ground lost during the week . The wide uptick during the day was credit not to tech stocks , but mainly to report card that inflation in the U.S. would remain low . At the conclusion of the day , the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17.35 points from Thursday , to close at 2,087.91 . The first full hebdomad of trading , end Jan. 7 , saw the Nasdaq Composite Index drop 4 percent to 2088.61 , its worst first week since 2000 , which saw a downslope of 4.6 percent .