Technology sector rallies to fire stocks on Wall Street

A late rally in the technology sector swamped a slump in financials as stocks on Wall Street closed higher after veering between losses and gains for most of the session.

Earnings expectations also helped offset global economic jitters.

Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 11.56 points, or 0.1%, at 10,907.42. Verizon Communications helped buoy the Dow with a jump of 2.6% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is designing new iPhones, including a version that could work on Verizon's network.

AT&T slid to the bottom of the Dow with a 1.7% drop, while Apple, which isn't a Dow component, gained 1.5%.

Diversified manufacturer 3M was also strong, up 3% after Danaher, another diversified manufacturer, raised its first-quarter earnings outlook. Danaher, which isn't a Dow component, jumped 3.7%.

The Dow's financial components weighed. Bank of America fell 1.6%, while JP Morgan Chase edged down 0.7%. Boeing also fell, sinking 0.8%.

The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.3% at 2410.69, while the S&P 500-stock index was virtually unchanged at 1173.27. Declines in the financial sector are offset in part by gains in technology and industrials.

Other markets

European stocks fell modestly, as enthusiasm for the Greek debt rescue deal showed signs of fading. The dollar edged higher against the euro, as oil prices rose and gold prices fell.

A €5 billion Greek bond issue traded poorly in the secondary market while in Ireland the government announced details of a bank-rescue plan that included the establishment of a "bad bank" to acquire toxic assets from Ireland's ailing large banks. Irish bank stocks tumbled ahead of the news, which was released after the market closed.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.02 point, or 0.01%, to 263.87, while the UK's FTSE 100 index fell 38.34, or 0.67%, to 5672.32, France's CAC-40 index declined 13.25, or 0.33%, to 3987.41 and Germany's DAX eased 14.40, or 0.23%, to 6142.45.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher, with steelmakers leading gains in Tokyo, while property and banking stocks were standouts in Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1% to 11,097.14, its highest closing level since October 2, 2008. Standouts included Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries, which gained 2.5% and 2.1% respectively. The companies reportedly reached a tentative accord with Brazilian mining giant Vale on a roughly 90% increase in iron ore prices for the April-June period.

The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3128.47, extending Monday's two-month closing high, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7% to 21,374.79. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4% to 4916.79 and Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.5% to crack the 1700 level at 1700.19.

India's Sensex was down 0.7% to 17,590.17, while Singapore's Straits Times added 0.15% to 2933.39.

Commodities: Oil up, gold down

Oil futures are steady ahead of US oil-inventory data due out later in the day. Light, sweet crude for May delivery is up 19USc, or 0.2%, at $US82.36 a barrel in New York.

Gold futures are softer with the June contract down $US6.50 to $US1105.10 in New York.

Currencies: Dollar up, yen down

The dollar was higher against its key rivals, recovering from earlier losses against the euro after slumping stocks and diminished appetite for risk pushed that currency lower.

The dollar's scramble higher against the yen, driven in part by higher US yields, took it to ¥93.02 yen—its highest level since January 8.

The UK pound was the only major currency to maintain its gains against the greenback. It rallied in earlier trading after news that fourth-quarter UK gross domestic product growth was revised to 0.4% from 0.3%.

The euro was at $US1.3416 from $US1.3481 late on Monday, and at ¥124.55 from ¥124.65.

The dollar was at ¥92.83 from ¥92.46 and 1.0669 Swiss francs from 1.0624.

The pound was at $US1.5090 from $US1.4984.