Tech stocks take the lead as buyers return to Wall Street

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With just a few days left in the month, technology stocks are reasserting themselves as some of the first quarter’s biggest winners.

Amid a broad advance in stocks today, Google Inc. jumped $9.22, or 2.7%, to $353.29, extending its year-to-date gain to 14.8%. Apple Inc. was up $3.38, or 3.4%, to $109.87, and is up 28.7% for the year. Other big gainers today include Internet tech firm Akamai Technologies, Intel Corp. and Broadcom Corp.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index today moved back into the black for 2009 after rising 3.8% for the session. It’s up 0.6% for the year.

By contrast, the Standard & Poor’s 500, which rose 2.3% today, still is in the red for the year, off 7.8%, despite the rebound of the last few weeks.

Electronics retailer Best Buy helped stoke enthusiasm for the tech sector this morning, reporting fiscal fourth quarter earnings that were better than expected. The shares soared $4.21, or 12.6%, to $37.67.

Investors looking for excuses to be bullish can find them in the tech sector. Case in point: Although operating earnings for the tech companies in the S&P 500 are expected to drop 31% in the first quarter from a year earlier, that figure has held steady since late February -- even as analysts have continued to cut earnings estimates for other major market sectors, including industrial firms, utilities and commodity producers, according to earnings tracker Thomson Reuters.

As for the economic outlook, if you figure there’s a good chance of a recovery in the second half of the year, tech would be the classic way to bet on renewed growth.

And even if you see the economy continuing to struggle, tech still has relative appeal, says Paul Hickey, a principal at market research firm Bespoke Investment Group: ‘When you get into an environment where companies are looking to cut costs, the argument is that tech can help you be more productive,’ he notes. (After all, do you know of anyone who’s giving up their computer to save money?)

Finally, Hickey points out, investors who nowadays will bet only on financially strong companies have plenty to pick from in the tech sector. ‘Tech companies have among the least debt of any sector,’ he says.

Tech stocks may get a further lift in the next few days from Wall Street ‘window dressing’ -- some money managers’ practice of adding to their winners as the quarter draws to a close, a way to bolster their portfolios before they report quarter-end results to clients.

-- Tom Petruno