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Dow rises 64.75;
Nasdaq up 67

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Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Blue chips led Wall Street higher today, boosting the Nasdaq composite index to its first positive finish this week despite a continuing slide in technology stocks.

Lower oil prices made chemical companies and airlines especially attractive buys to investors looking for less risky investments.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 64.74 at 10,784.48, after gaining as much as 120 points during the day. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 67.27 at 3,523.10, despite spending much of the day in negative territory. The gain erased some of yesterday's losses, when the index reached its lowest close since late May. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 7.86 at 1,434.32. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 7-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,563 down, 1,257 up and 493 unchanged. Volume was 1.17 billion shares vs. 1.10 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 0.52 to 665.14, the American Stock Exchange composite index lost 3.07 to 934.39 and the Russell 2000 index rose 2.82 to 507.49.

The Treasury's 10-year note fell 5/32 to a price of 98 31/32; its yield rose 2 basis points to 5.89 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/32 to 104 9/32, and its yield was unchanged at 5.94 percent.

Knight Trading fell $3.69 to $28.50, after the securities trading firm warned of lower-than-expected earnings. Investors, however, bid Computer Associates up $3.63 to $28.06 after it said late yesterday that earnings would be below estimates.