Technology stocks put in a mixed performance Thursday as the sector got caught up in the broader market's marginal losses fueled by rising prices and China and ever-present concerns about the U.S. economy.

Chip stocks traded broadly in the red.

The market's uneasiness tugged on the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF), down 4 points to 2,355, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) also retreated.

The latest economic data from China showed an increase in the country's inflation rate, which added to fears that the mainland economy may be growing too fast.

Closer to home, the number of applicants making initial filings for jobless benefits in the U.S. fell by 6,000 last week, fewer than what many economic watchers had expected.

Undercutting the chip sector, J.P. Morgan analyst Christopher Danely said in a research note that he believed that the overall outlook for semiconductor companies is good but that some cracks beginning to appear in the sector.

Danely flagged, among other things, signs that demand for personal computers is beginning to soften as well as a rise in semiconductor inventories.

Among chip stocks, Intel Corp. (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) were all in the red.

Other tech shares on the decline included Apple Inc. (AAPL), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ).

Google Inc. (GOOG), however, rose $4.50 to stand at $580.88.

Broadpoint AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter told clients in a research note that Google's gross margins have the ability to "rise substantially" through 2010 and 2011, with the new, Google-designed Nexus One smartphone qualifying as a "wild card" for the company's earnings.

Small gains came from blue chips Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and IBM Corp. (IBM) as well as Lexmark International (LXK).

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