Technology stocks rose yesterday yet finished below session peaks, as investors shortened their horizons as the trading day wore on, pocketing quick gains built on Merrill Lynch's bullish outlook for the battered semiconductor industry.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 41.25 points to 2,068.38, according to the latest data. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.80 points to 10,510.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 index crept up 4.70 points to 1,215.93.
In earlier trade, the Dow rose to nearly 10,600, while the Nasdaq peaked intraday at almost 2,080.
Merrill, noting the worst may be over for the chip companies, raised its opinion on the global semiconductor sector and upgraded its recommendations on several stocks.
Industry fundamentals suggested global demand had hit a trough and supply was stabilising after strong growth, the brokerage said.
Among firms it upgraded, Analog Devices, Linear Technology, Maxim Integrated Products and ST Microelectronics were raised to "buy" from "neutral" in the intermediate term.
RF Micro Devices, Texas Instruments and two others were upgraded to "buy" from "accumulate". Texas Instruments rose $2.13 to $36.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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