It's a bad day for tech investors, but despite the falling fortunes of one of the best-known companies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%) is managing a passable day to start the week. As of 2:15 p.m. EST, the index has recorded a small gain of 19 points. Tech stocks are mixed on the Dow despite the Nasdaq Composite's (^IXIC 2.02%) minor losses, and Dow members as a whole are fairly evenly split between losers and winners.

Apple pulls down tech
The stock dragging down the markets today isn't a Dow member at all, but rather tech giant Apple (AAPL -0.35%). The celebrated iPhone maker has seen its shares fall more than 3% after it was reported that the company will cut iPhone 5 parts orders due to lack of demand. While that's a black mark for Apple, the dip signals a cheaper entry point for those interested in the stock. This is still one of the best tech offerings on the market and a powerful, capable company.

Intel (INTC -9.20%) and IBM (IBM -1.05%) have followed Apple down, however, ranking among the top Dow laggards with respective losses of 0.6% and 0.7%. Later this week, Intel will report earnings, which should allow investors to see how the company is handling the continued PC market decline. The company has lost more than 12% over the past year, and a weak earnings report could make matters worse.

Don't tell Hewlett-Packard (HPQ -0.46%) that tech's not having a great day, however. The beleaguered tech stock has caught fire to start 2013, and today's no exception: Shares have gained 5.5% so far today. HP received an upgrade from JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz from "underweight" to "neutral." Despite major losses last year, compounded by the Autonomy writedown and ensuing fraud accusations, HP has launched a blitz in 2013 that has scored the stock gains of nearly 10% over the past month. Part of that is due to opportunistic investors looking for a bargain, and don't be fooled -- this is still a company that faces major trouble in getting back on track over the long term.

Outside the tech sector, however, one recently maligned stock is on the up today. Aerospace manufacturer Boeing (BA 0.25%) has picked up gains of 1.8% despite the rising storm of criticism over the fire and other publicized problems the 787 Dreamliner aircraft experienced last week. Even with these incidents, it's tough to go against Boeing: This company still ranks at the top of the massive aerospace market around the globe, and its tried-and-true models aren't going anywhere. It may have faltered to start 2013, but you can expect Boeing to regain its footing.