Friday's Tech Winners & Losers

Updated from 1:38 p.m. EDT

Tech stocks surged Friday, lifted by the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the rate it charges banks to borrow from it.

The Fed lowered the discount rate to 5.75% from 6.25%, indicating that it is aware of the impact increasingly scarce credit was having on the market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained almost 43 points to about 1889, rising along with the wider market. The index was buoyed by solid gains from some of its biggest names.

Research In Motion(RIMM Quote) climbed 11.4% to $220.52. Apple(AAPL Quote) gained 4.3% to $122.06. Google(GOOG Quote) rose $8.52, or 1.7%, to $500.04.

The semiconductor space was also advancing, led by Intel(INTC Quote). The chip giant gained 2.6% to $23.70, a day after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to outperform from underperform.

Other chipmakers were also gaining. Opnext(OPXT Quote) gained 14.5% to $12.31. FormFactor(FORM Quote) gained 3.9% to $43.87. Atmel(ATML Quote) gained 4% to $4.74.

On the flip side, Verticalnet (VERTD Quote) plummeted 10.9% two days after effecting an one-for-eight reverse stock split, in an effort to stay listed on the Nasdaq. The stock sank 31 cents to $2.53.

Information technology consultants Cognizant Technology Solutions(CTSH Quote) slid earlier in the day but closed up 7 cents at $74.95. Access-card maker Innovative Card Technologies(INVC Quote) lost 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.31.