NEW YORK -- Most stocks fell today, but bellwether technology stocks rose sharply and the Dow industrials edged higher after three sessions of profit-taking. Dow up 5.93
The Dow Jones industrial average finished 5.93 points higher at 8,371.97 after trading between an early 37-point decline and a gain of 67.
Broader stock indexes also closed higher, but decliners outnumbered advancers overall.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which jumped 19.72 to 1,737.35, posted the biggest gains, led by Dell Computer Corp., Intel Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. Similarly, the Dow's strongest gainers included IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.79 to 1,068.13.
Decliners outnumbered gainers by a narrow margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,458 up, 1,530 down and 523 unchanged. Nasdaq advancers finished with a small lead over decliners.
NYSE volume totaled 675.17 million shares vs. 757.18 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index fell 0.12 to 527.65, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.14 to 634.52.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.03 to 371.47.
The 30-year Treasury bond fell 17/32 to 105 24/32, with the yield rising to 5.12 percent.
The outlook brightened some today with news of proposed economic reforms in Brazil and a report revealing unexpected strength in U.S. manufacturing.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.2 percent. Germany's DAX index fell 3.1 percent, Britain's FT-SE 100 fell 0.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.6 percent.