US STOCKS-Techs fall, but defensive plays curb Wall St's drop

* Stronger U.S. dollar hurts oil, basic materials

* Consumer sentiment at 9-month high

* Nasdaq off 1 pct, Dow off 0.03 pct, S&P off 0.3 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to early afternoon, changes byline)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Technology shares led Wall Street's drop on Friday after National Semiconductor's (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) disappointing results, but a rise in defensive sectors like healthcare limited losses in the Dow and S&P 500.

The energy and materials sectors also fell, with a stronger dollar and profit-taking supporting declines in oil and commodity prices, which have recently jumped.

Among the tech bellwethers, iPod and iPhone maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 2.7 percent at $136.16 and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 2.9 percent at $82.96. They were the top two drags on the Nasdaq.

Chipmaker National Semiconductor Corp (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a quarterly loss late Thursday, but offered a sales forecast that beat expectations. Its shares sank 7.5 percent to $13.40 on the New York Stock Exchange and weighed on the PHLX semiconductor index , which was down nearly 3 percent.