Wall Street's Christmas optimism faded yesterday as investors returned to unloading tech stocks and shifting money into blue chips. A session after sending stocks soaring in a brief holiday rally, investors retreated amid corporate earnings worries and profit-taking. Tech stocks fell and blue chips rose modestly in light trading as many investors took the week off.

Analysts were glum about the market's prospects during this last week of 2000.

"You have little impetus for any gains today or this week. We're probably not going to get an interest rate cut this week," said Barry Hyman, chief investment strategist with Weatherly Securities.

The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 23.50 to 2,493.52 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.22 to 1,315.19. The Nasdaq is down nearly 39 per cent for 2000, and off more than 50 per cent from its March peak. Despite Friday's rally, the tech-heavy index is headed for its worst year ever, surpassing a 35.1 per cent drop in 1974. For the year to date, the Dow is down 7 per cent and the S&P 500 is off 10.5 per cent.