Technology stocks crumbled yesterday with the Nasdaq index carving out another 26-month low, as investors buckled under the weight of an earnings warning from software giant Oracle Corp.

Blue chips eked out a modest gain amid buying in safer defensive issues, or companies that may better weather the US economic downturn.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 65.74 points, or 3.01 per cent, at 2,117.63, its lowest finish since December 1998. It was the fifth down week in a row for Nasdaq, and brought it down 14.3 per cent for the year.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.17 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 10,466.31. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 7.05 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,234.18. It also was the fifth down week for the S&P 500 index.