HP on Tuesday quelled a lot of worries by delivering <A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8047&tag=nl.e622">stronger than expected fiscal first quarter earnings</A> and raising its outlook for the second quarter.

The IT giant, viewed as a proxy for enterprise spending, delivered net income of $2.1 billion, or 80 cents a share, on revenue of $28.5 billion, up from 13 percent a year ago. Excluding charges, HP had earnings of 86 cents a share. That tally handily topped Wall Street estimates calling for earnings of 81 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial.