WALL Street stocks ended mostly lower yesterday but the Dow Jones industrial average notched a slight gain the blue-chip barometer's seventh record finish in a row after rebounding from an early plunge prompted by a discouraging report on semiconductor orders.

The Dow index had been down more than 37 points near the opening and then meandered higher most of the session before a late sell off.

The technology laden Nasdaq composite plunged more than IS points in the morning, but cut its losses by more than half by late afternoon. Other broad market indexes were mixed.

Intel, the world's biggest chip maker, lost ground as the most active issue on the Nasdaq.

Cyclical issues such as United Technologies Corp and Fastman Kodak, whose results are heavily affected by the health of the economy, gave the Dow industrials support, as did consumer stocks.