Big-name technology shares rallied yesterday as money managers dressed their portfolios for end-of-quarter reports, but the broad market posted only slim gains after a summit on the Asian fiscal crisis proved uneventful.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped about one point to 8,711.13 after retreating from a 50-point gain.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index jumped more than 1 per cent, led by technology favourites Intel and Dell Computer, but most broad-market indicators posted only marginal gains.

The market's gains came despite disappointment that a weekend financial summit in Tokyo produced no concrete plan from Japan to revive its economy.

Analysts had been looking for Japan to unveil some initiatives to build on last week's American-led effort to stabilise the battered Japanese yen which faltered again yesterday.

The dollar's rise hurts US companies by making imports cheaper and US exports more expensive.