A compromise on the U.S. stimulus package, an upbeat subscriber forecast from Research In Motion and news of a big investment plan by Intel this week did little to cheer IT investors about prospects for the tech sector, as vendors and analysts continue to curb expectations for sales.

Worries about consumer spending, advertising and the ability of IT companies to raise money appear to have hit many tech stocks harder even than the overall market on Monday, one of the worst days on Wall Street since 1929.

As the U.S. financial services crisis roiled markets around the world, stock buybacks from bellwethers Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard and earnings reports from Red Hat and Research in Motion caught the eye of IT investors.