Market tracker IDC said Wednesday worldwide personal computer shipments between April and June were better than expected.

Shipments fell 3.1% from a year ago, rather than the 6.3% decline IDC forecast.

The findings suggest PC shipments will turn around by year's end, according to IDC analyst Loren Loverde. "These results are a very positive indicator for the second half of the year and should support an expected return to growth by the year-end," she said.

The IDC report marks the second consecutive day of good news for PC makers. On Tuesday, microprocessor maker Intel Corp. (INTC) provided fresh evidence of a PC market rebound by reporting second fiscal quarter revenue and profit margins that were much stronger than the first quarter. The company in April said the PC market bottomed out.

During the quarter, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) kept its worldwide No. 1 ranking. Its annual shipment growth was an anemic 3.6%, which out-performed the market. It's market share is now 19.8%.

No. 2 Dell was the only top five PC maker to ship fewer computers than the year before. While it benefited from new retail partnerships to supplant Hewlett-Packard as tops in the U.S., Dell was hurt by a steep drop in corporate IT spending worldwide. Dell's 13.7% worldwide market share is three full percentage points below a year ago.

Acer Inc. (2353.TW) was unable to catch Dell in the standings, despite the netbook maker selling 23% more computers than the year before. It ended the quarter with a 12.7% share, which is a full percentage point behind Dell.

Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) U.S. market share slipped to 7.6% after shipping 12.4% fewer computers than a year ago, IDC said.

-By Ben Charny; Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com