Wall Street Beat: M&A stirs 'trendless market'

survey, whose results were published this week, said their company will spend less on software in coming months. That 25 percent figure is 3 points higher than ChangeWave's January report, and 11 points higher than its October report -- not an encouraging trend.

IT investors are likely to remain cautious for the next few quarters, when economists and IT market observers say business and consumer spending should start to pick up again. Nevertheless, despite all the talk about a trendless market, M&A news in the wake of good earnings has helped a general rise in IT share prices over the past month.