Today's Outrage: Take That, IBM Doubters

Big Blue is back.

IBM(IBM Quote) is managing its way through the recession and beating profit estimates with its fourth-quarter earnings report yesterday.

So guess what company is giving the markets a lift today with a near 7% gain in its shares so far today? That's right, Big Blue. So the naysayers, doubters, profit-takers and all the rest who pushed IBM shares down 3% yesterday learned that pessimism is not the order of the day.

It's nice to see the market react positively to good news. Heck, it's nice to have some good news.

Now how about the rest of the companies in the S&P computer hardware index -- we need some more good news to lift the sector out of the doldrums and spark a sustainable rally. So far, IBM's the only one in positive territory for 2009 and down the least over the past 12 months.

Apple(AAPL Quote) is down 50% in the past 12 months; Dell(DELL Quote) and Sun Microsystems (JAVA Quote) are down even more. Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote) is down only 22% over the past 12 months but appears to be slipping back; Teradata(TDC Quote) is down 40% and sliding, too.

Come on, if IBM can deliver a positive earnings surprise, can't one of the others?

Apple, it's your turn now with your first-quarter report Wednesday afternoon.