Techs Finish Higher; Blue Chips Flat

N E W  Y O R K, Aug. 13 -- Technology stocks rose today as Wall Street bet that embattled chip makers like Intel may turn the corner, but blue chips slipped asthe murky economic outlook kept investor enthusiasm in check.

The market has been range-bound over the last few weeks asinvestors wait for hints of an economic pick-up. TheFederal Reserve has slashed interest rates six times this yearand is expected to cut again at its policy-setting meeting nextTuesday to spark growth in the world's largest economy.

"We were forced to wade through 800 pre-announcements ofearnings — it seemed like the largest confession season that Ihave ever live through," said Ted Oberhaus, manager of equitytrading at Lord Abbett & Co., echoing investors' growingfrustration over the market's lackluster performance. "We wererewarded for our patience with more bad numbers, layoffs anddividend cuts. We really need a catalyst to get this marketgoing."

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 25.31points, or 1.29 percent, to end at 1,981.78. The blue-chip DowJones Industrial average slipped 0.34 points, to 10415.91. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Indexadded 1.05 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,191.21.

Goldman’s Upgrade

In its bullish call, Goldman Sachs added Intel, the world'slargest maker of chips for personal computers, to itsrecommended list. Other tech companies added to that listincluded microchip maker Analog Devices, communications chipmaker Broadcom and wireless technology firm Qualcomm.

The investment house said it had raised its ratings onIntel, Analog Devices and a third company, Maxim IntegratedProducts Inc., in anticipation of the business environmentturning positive toward the fourth quarter.

On Broadcom and Qualcomm, Goldman believes the inventorycorrection in the telecom sector is well on its way.

Intel rose 50 cents to $30.45, boosting the Nasdaq andoffering support to the Dow. Analog Devices, which trades onthe New York Stock Exchange, moved up $1.70 to $49.15. Maximjumped $2.97 to $51.16 on the Nasdaq.