NEW YORK: Facebook shares bolted higher in early trade Thursday following a big earnings jump, but weak results from other tech companies pushed the Nasdaq into the red.

About 40 minutes into trade, Facebook was up 5.2 percent after posting an 11 percent gain in third-quarter profits to $891 million behind a 41 percent surge in revenues to $4.5 billion. Many of Facebook's gains came from higher mobile advertising revenues.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 12.74 points (0.25 percent) at 5,129.74.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.33 (0.09 percent) to 17,883.91, while the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.50 (0.02 percent) to 2,101.81.

Cybersecurity company FireEye plunged 24.1 percent after projecting full-year revenues of $620-$628 million, below the $640.8 million expected by analysts. FireEye said its business has underperformed in Europe due to macroeconomic factors and the company's "growing pains" in the region.

Qualcomm slumped 12.3 percent after it projected earnings of 80-90 cents per share in the current quarter, below the $1.08 per share seen by analysts.

Biotech company Celgene lost 6.5 percent as it reported a $34 million loss for the third quarter due to costs related to its acquisition of Receptos and a research venture with Juno Therapeutics.

Whole Foods Market fell 5.2 percent as net income for the quarter ending September 27 dropped 56.3 percent to $56 million due in part to 0.2 percent decline in comparable store sales. The upscale grocer announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program.

Vacations listing service HomeAway surged 23.9 percent on news it will be acquired by Expedia for $3.9 billion. Expedia advanced 3.1 percent.

Ralph Lauren Corporation surged 16.1 percent on fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.13 per share that easily topped analyst expectations of $1.74 per share. Profit margins were boosted by lower sourcing costs and the selling of more items at full price.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.24 percent from 2.23 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.01 percent from 2.99 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.