Executives at Dell, the world’s second-biggest PC maker, on Thursday predicted a return to growth in the second half of this year, with a solid rebound in corporate spending that underpins much of the tech industry looking increasingly likely for 2010.

The comments, which echoed the cautious optimism that has become increasingly apparent among other big tech companies, came after Dell had mistakenly posted its latest quarterly results on its website early, leading to confusion on Wall Street.