Is it a good time to invest in tech stocks? – Appl, HPQ, CSCO, MS, HPQ, GOOG, LEAP, ATVI

Technology is big right now thanks to companies like Apple (NYSE:APPL) and HP (NYSE:HPQ) buying up companies and launching innovative products. Many investors look at getting into tech stocks because there is so much room for growth and the industry moves so fast. So, for 2010, should you be investing in technology or is the technology industry having trouble along the lines seen in other sectors?

The market sell off this week has hurt many of the gains seen in the technology market recently. The sell off of the past few days has caused many to worry about the stability of the global economy. The S&P 500 lost 7% of its value during the second week of May, while the Dow Jones lost 700 points.

Which sector took the biggest hit with this sell-off? It was the technology sector.

Three of the main indexes for the technology industry (NASDAQ Composite Index, Morgan Stanley High-Tech Index, Philadelphia Semi-Conductor Index) all saw their values fall. One company that really took a hit was Apple and that worries many investors because Apple has been riding high with the release of the iPad. In the past week, Apple lost 10 percent of its value and the stock dipped below $200. While it rose, it was below the high it reached in April. One of the main reasons for this was the announcement by Nokia that it was launching a patent-infringement suit against Apple for the technology being used in the iPhone and iPad devices.

Apple was not the only company to lose value. Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) lost three percent of its value and fell by 78 cents.

Microsoft l (NYSE:MS) lost 77 cents a share, which is 2.7 percent of its value.

HP (NYSE:HPQ), which recently saw an increase in its share value thanks to the purchase of Palm, had a 3.3 percent decrease of $1.60.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), the technology powerhouse, saw a decrease as well. Its stock dipped by $5.53 a share to $493.14, which marks the first time since 2009 that the company’s stock has been below $500 a share.

Leap Wireless International (NASDAQ:LEAP) lost 15 percent of its value, or $2.52 after they announced a first-quarter loss of $68 million, which is $18 million more of a loss than the company had a year ago.

Not all stocks fell though. Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) was up seven cents a share after it was announced that World of Warcraft and Call of Duty game sales were doing very well, doubling the first-quarter earnings of the company.

Anyone can tell you that the tech market is a volatile one. While there is the possibility to make a lot of money with it, you can lose a lot of money. The tech industry collapsed in the early-2000s after a very rapid growth. Many lost money but anyone who bought 100 shares of Google for one dollar now sees their profits up by 500 times. So, it is a good market to be in but it can be chaotic. That being said, currently tech stocks are dealing with some major hits and it may be a few months yet before the tech sector recovers.

Further Links:

Smart Phone Industry: Where is it headed?

Future of Best Buy: Largest Retail Electronics Store