THE S&P 500 Index Eyes Tech-Stock Bargains Adding techs during boom has hurt index, but adding them when down ...?(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: Jed Graham

In a big change from two years ago, Standard & Poor's 500 index fund managers are getting the chance to buy tech stocks close to the bottom rather than near the top.

The recent news that Ciena Corp. and PMC-Sierra Inc. would be added to the S&P 500 came within days of earnings warnings that sent shares of both companies tumbling to near two-year lows.

That's just a coincidence, Standard & Poor's insists, not an attempt at bargain hunting. The committee that chooses entrants to the S&P 500 says it doesn't consider future stock performance or current price-to-earnings ratios. Its goal is simply to create an index of leading large-cap companies from leading industries.

That mind-set has made for a rough ride the last two years. Many investors turn to the S&P 500, seeking the safety of a big-cap index. But the index replaced …