NEW YORK -- The Nasdaq composite index closed sharply higher, after Intel Corp. sparked a rally in technology shares. But the Dow Jones industrials lagged the broader market, closing lower after spectacular gains last week. Dow off 8.47;
Nasdaq up 60.5The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8.47 points to close at 9,727.61. The Dow opened higher, then retreated as much as 61.75 before trimming its loss in the final hour of trading. The Nasdaq composite, however, gained 60.51 at 2,397.62, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.26 to a record close of 1,282.73.
Technology stocks rallied after a weak performance last week, after Nasdaq component Intel announced it had agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the chip maker had illegally bullied three other companies into handing over secret information about their products. Intel shares climbed $5 to $119.621/2.
But in general on Big Board, two days of spectacular back-to-back gains in the Dow couldn't hold. The Dow gained a total of 460 points on Thursday and Friday.
Decliners beat advancers by a 6-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange today, with 1,595 up, 1,359 down and 583 unchanged. Volume was moderately heavy at 709.80 million vs. 834.27 million Friday. The NYSE composite index rose 0.96 to 604.10, and the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 4.77 to 712.18. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.05 to 400.06.
The 30-year Treasury bond rose up 1/16 point, yielding 5.59 percent by late afternoon, down from 5.60 percent late Friday.