Coming Week: Google Time

The tech sector will take center stage in the coming week, as the Nasdaq's recent rally faces its first big test.

For the first time since the Internet bubble popped in 2000, the technology sector has led a stock market rally. The Nasdaq is up 14% from its Aug. 16 low, which came right in the thick of this summer's credit crunch. The broader market has recovered since then as well, in a bounceback stoked in part by rate-cutting moves at the Federal Reserve. But the gains beyond tech have been less pronounced, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each up 10%.

So what's driving tech's big run-up? Companies and consumers alike are snapping up new gear and gadgets at a rapid clip. Wall Street will be looking for evidence of that growing demand when tech's third-quarter earnings season starts this week, with reports Tuesday from Yahoo! (YHOO Quote), Wednesday from eBay (EBAY Quote) and Thursday from Google (GOOG Quote). ...