Tech Shares Push Nasdaq to Record Again; Dow Slips

Wall Street stumbled to a mixed finish Wednesday as key indexes surrendered much of their midday gains by the close.

But what was left was still enough to push the Nasdaq composite index to a new high, and lift most Nasdaq stocks in the process.

Meanwhile, buyers also poured into many foreign markets, sending share prices in Japan and Brazil to two-year highs.

On Wall Street the Nasdaq composite gained 30.92 points, or 1%, to a record 3,155.96, resuming that market’s rally after Tuesday’s modest dip.

The Dow Jones industrials, however, eased 19.58 points to 10,597.74 after rising as high as 10,654.

Falling stocks topped winners by a 16 to 14 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, but winners had a 20-to-19 edge on Nasdaq. Trading remained extremely heavy.

Blue chips were choppy for much of the day, in part reflecting a rise in bond yields after the October wholesale inflation report showed a larger-than-expected rise in the “core” inflation rate.

That reignited concerns about the Federal Reserve’s plans with interest rates. The Fed meets on Tuesday.

But the 30-year Treasury bond yield ended at 6.09%, up from 6.07% on Tuesday yet below the midday peak of 6.12%.

Also Wednesday, the Treasury auctioned new 10-year notes at a yield of 6.01%.

But if new worries about interest rates were dogging the bond market, they didn’t appear to faze many tech-stock buyers: The explosive rally in the tech sector continued, led by giants such as Cisco Systems, up $5.25 to $79.50 after its strong quarterly earnings report.

Investors also continued to find cash to buy new stock issues: United Parcel Service’s shares zoomed $18.25 to $68.25 on their first day of trading.

In foreign trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 index jumped 1.5% to a 26-month high of 18,567, in anticipation of a large new government-funded economic stimulus package.

In Brazil the main Bovespa index rose 1.7% to a two-year high, though investors were disappointed after the market closed that the Brazilian central bank declined to cut interest rates again, as many hoped.

Stocks also posted strong gains in Singapore, Paris, Hong Kong and Mexico City.

Among Wednesday’s highlights:

* Tech stocks leading the way included IBM, up $3.38 to $97; BMC Software, up $4.56 to $66.25; Apple Computer, up $1.81 to $91.44; and a horde of chip stocks, led by Motorola, up $6.25 to $116.75.

But Microsoft fell again, off $1.75 to $87.13. It has fallen from $91.56 Friday, when a federal court ruled the company has monopoly power in key markets.

* Telecom and cable TV were again red hot. Qualcomm leaped $19.75 to $319.56, Equant gained $5.06 to $94.06, General Instrument surged $3.69 to $64.63 and Cablevision Systems jumped $5.50 to $68.75.

* Energy stocks advanced as crude oil prices continued to rebound. Chevron rose $2.31 to $91.56, Conoco added 94 cents to $27.88 and Elf Aquitaine gained $1.56 to $77.50.

* On the downside, banks and utilities were lower--reflecting interest-rate jitters. Chase Manhattan lost $2.50 to $80.56 and First Union slid $1.31 to $40.56. Also, the Dow utility index lost 0.7%, its fourth straight decline.

* Mirage Resorts sank $1.13 to $12.50. The Wall Street Journal reported that investor Kirk Kerkorian has in recent weeks dumped the large stake he had in the casino firm.

Kerkorian’s casino company, MGM Grand, fell $1.38 to $53.

* Mexican phone giant TelMex rose $2.88 to $97.88. Its board proposed a 2-for-1 stock split.

Market Roundup, C11