Dow falls as investors sell blue chip stocks

Stocks closed mixed in New York yesterday, as investors sold blue chips after three straight winning sessions and bought some beaten down technology issues.

At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 109.14, or 1.0 per cent, at 11,067.00.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index was down 7.13, or 0.5 per cent, to 1,484.43. The Nasdaq composite index closed up 1.97 on 3,851.66.

Analysts said profit-taking was largely responsible for the Dow's drop. The Dow had risen in recent days amid optimism that the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 7-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 891.85 million shares, up from Monday's pace.