Technology stocks rose yesterday as Wall Street bet that embattled chip makers like Intel may turn the corner, but blue chips slipped as the murky economic outlook kept investor enthusiasm in check.
The market has been range-bound over the past few weeks as investors wait for hints of an economic pick-up. The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates again at its policy-setting meeting next Tuesday to spark growth in the world's largest economy.
Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs sparked a modest technology rally by upgrading Intel and other chip makers. But investors remained cautious after the chip sector's see-saw performance in the past month. Battered chip makers gained at times but the rallies fizzled as dismal earnings come back to haunt the sector.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 25.31 points, or 1.29 percent, to end at 1,981.78. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial average slipped 1.17 points, or 0.01 percent, at 10,415.08. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.05 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,191.21.
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