Dell earnings, chip market growth and new U.S. government figures for economic growth came under the scrutiny of IT investors this week as tech-vendor shares struggle to get out of the trough they hit during the first quarter, when fears of a recession slammed the market.

Tech-sector financial news this week was fairly positive. Dell's earnings announcement on Thursday was solid, though much of the company's good news came about because of greater growth outside the U.S. The PC maker, which has changed its business model over the past year in order to ramp up flagging sales, issued first-quarter numbers that beat estimates for both profit and revenue.

The company reported net income of US$784 million, compared to $756 million a year earlier. The $0.38 earnings per share beat estimates of $0.34 a share by analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Among other moves, Dell has broken from its traditional direct-sales model and started to do more deals with retail chains during the past year. Dell shares were trading at $21.81, up by $0.12, in after-market trading 30 minutes after the company's announcement.

Dell's earnings followed the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group's announcement on Tuesday that it cut its forecast for global chip sales this year. The good news, though, is that the growth rate is still higher than it was for last year, when the fourth quarter turned out to be a dud. The group now expects 4.7 percent growth, to $267.7 billion in sales, down from earlier forecasts of 9.1 percent growth. Last year, sales rose 3.2 percent.

Consumer electronic products and strong growth in Asia are contributing to an overall positive trend, despite questions about the U.S. economy. The semiconductor association said its forecast for the next two years is "very close to the original projections, with 5.8 percent and 8.8 percent growth, respectively."

Meanwhile, the federal government on Thursday said the economy grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter, a slight increase from its prior estimate. The U.S. gross domestic product beat the 0.6 percent estimate the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis made last month.

Though turbulent financial markets have dampened mergers and acquisitions, and IPO activity, there has been enough M&A news to excite investors. M&A activity is sometimes taken as a sign that vendors trust that market conditions might be good going forward, since no company wants to pay top dollar for a competitor whose sales will decline.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.