Blue-chip stocks eked out gains yesterday, after the latest data on workers' productivity offered hope the US economy can chug ahead, but fresh worries about the semiconductor sector pulled tech shares lower.
American workers' productivity surged in the April-June period, lifting expectations that greater efficiency can allow the economy to grow faster without inflation, even after the economy posted its weakest performance since 1993 in the second quarter.
It was not enough, however, to buoy all of the stocks because of persistent jitters about corporate profits.
Investors braced for quarterly results from tech bellwether Cisco Systems, which after the close reported an 86 per cent drop in profits but met lowered Wall Street estimates.
"You've started to see some signs in the economic data that things are going to be looking a bit better, but until some of that data starts showing up in company reports, the market is probably going to trade a little listlessly," said Mr Richard Nash, chief investment strategist at Key Asset Management in Cleveland.
