By Benjamin Pimentel

The tech sector edged higher Thursday, led by Apple Inc. and chip companies, pushing the Nasdaq Composite Index back above the 2,000 mark.

After a shaky start, the Nasdaq (RIXF) gained 0.6% to 2,011, aided by gains from Palm Inc. (PALM) which were up more than 4%.

Also aiding the rally were shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Dell Inc. (DELL).

The chip sector also pitched in, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 1.4% on gains from Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).

Meanwhile, Amazon.com (AMZN) struggled in negative territory, its shares down more than 1%.

Also in the red were shares of SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL)