Blue chip stocks surged in New York yesterday, offsetting some of the damage in the technology sector as investors again sold off shares or turned away from companies viewed as too risky.
But the market's enthusiasm for aluminium, farming equipment and financial services was not enough to lift the tech sector out of its malaise. Earnings reports dogged stocks even as the end of the third-quarter earnings season approached.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 245.15, at 10,835.77, the second straight session that the blue chips have gained more than 200 points.
The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index struggled, falling 87.01, or 2.6%, to 3,191.35, after being off nearly 130 points earlier in the day. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 19.07, or 1.4%, to 1,398.65.
In a continuation of what has been the pattern all month, concern about the long-term profitability of technology stocks drove many investors to unload those shares in favour of blue chips.
