HP, Intel, Microsoft: Dow Movers

Breadth within the Dow was split with 15 components lower, 14 higher, and GE shares finishing unchanged.

Author:: Alexandra Zendrian
Publish date:: May 23, 2012 4:47 PM EDT

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- U.S. stocks finished mixed Wednesday in a

volatile session

punctuated by a furious rally in the final hour of trading.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell nearly 7 points, or 0.05%, to close at 12,496. The

S&P 500

rose 2.23 points, or 0.17%, to finish at 1319 and the

Nasdaq Composite

gained 11.04 points, or 0.39%, to settle at 2850.

Breadth within the Dow was split as well with 15 of the 30 components posting losses.

General Electric

(GE) - Get Report

finished Wednesday flat.

The biggest decliners in the Dow were

Hewlett-Packard

(HPQ) - Get Report

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

and

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

Much of the selling in these tech names was driven by the

weak results and guidance

from

Dell

(DELL) - Get Report

after Tuesday's closing bell.

HP was the Dow's biggest loser, falling more than 3%. The stock was enjoying a strong bounce in after-hours action though after the company reported above-consensus quarterly results and a restructuring plan that calls for the elimination of 27,000 jobs, or 8% of its workforce. HP shares surged 5.7% to $22.27 on volume of more than 6 million in extended trades.

The PC and printer company reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the close of $1.9 billion, or 98 cents a share, down from year-earlier earnings of $2.7 billion, or $1.24 a share.

Analysts, on average, anticipated earnings of 91 cents a share on revenue of $29.92 billion.

Intel shares fell 2.27% to $25.44. The stock has gained 4.91% year to date.

Shares of Microsoft fell 2.18% to $29.11. The stock has risen 12.13% year to date.

The biggest gainer in the blue-chip index was

Bank of America

(BAC) - Get Report

. Shares increased 2.72% to $7.17.

The bank's stock has risen 28.96% year to date.

Though not the biggest gainer,

Wal-Mart

(WMT) - Get Report

hit a 52-week high Wednesday of $63.97. The stock's 52-week low of $48.31 was set on Aug. 10.