Nasdaq records sixth consecutive gain

Investors gravitated toward technology stocks again today, sending the Nasdaq composite index higher - albeit modestly - for a sixth straight session, its longest winning streak since February 2000.

Blue chips faltered, however, on a mix of company-specific news and profit-taking and an expected pullback from the big advance that sent the Dow Jones industrials up 464.95, or 4.3%, over the previous four sessions.

The Nasdaq closed up 8.23 at 2,313.82, a nearly 0.4% gain, for a total advance of 231.90, or 11.1% since last Tuesday. The index’s last six-day advance ended on February 8, 2000.

The Dow fell 80.68, or 0.7%, to 11,257.24, giving back the gains yesterday that sent it to its highest close since January 20, 2000, when it reached 11,351.30.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 3.45 or nearly 0.3% to 1,309.38.

Technology stocks struggled. Gainers included Microsoft, up 1.49 dollars at 70.28 dollars, and Cisco Systems, up 59 cents at 23.46 dollars. But some other high-profile tech stocks fell, including Oracle, down 55 cents at 17.55 dollars.

Blue chips were likewise choppy, reflecting profit-taking from the sector’s big run-up last week. Retailer Home Depot slipped 39 cents to 52.99 dollars, while Target was up 1.14 dollars at 38.89 dollars on better-than-expected earnings.

Many stocks today made moves based on individual companies’ announcements rather than investors’ overall worries about the economy or weak earnings reports, which have controlled trading activity in recent weeks.

AOL Time Warner fell 45 cents to 56.15 dollars, despite an advance earlier on the session when it announced its America Online unit was increasing the monthly price of its unlimited use plan by about 9% to 23.90 dollars.

Investors also punished Merck, which dropped 2.30 dollars to 75.10 dollars, after a New York Times article questioned the safety of its drug Vioxx and also that of Celebrex, made by Pharmacia and co-marketed by Pfizer. Pharmacia fell 52 cents to 49.50 dollars and Pfizer lost 72 cents to 44.04 dollars.

Analysts have been expecting investors, who still have concerns about when corporate profits will improve, to pull back and take profits from the market.

After all, Wall Street has been rallying since early April, primarily in response to the five interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. Money that was has been on the sidelines for months while the economy struggled has been coming back into the market, and some retreat was inevitable as investors took profits and adjusted their portfolios.

This week, Wall Street has been concentrating on technology issues a contrast with last week when blue chips were the focus.

’’People are buying the market because they believe the Fed has done enough to block the economic slowdown and restart and reaccelerate growth,’’ said Ronald J. Hill, investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. ‘‘The next few months we may see some see-sawing, because there’s going to be plenty of negative news in second-quarter pre-announcements.

’’But in the end, I think most people will be convinced that with all the Fed easing we’ve had and the possibility of another cut in the June, the worst is over.’’

The Russell 2000 index rose 1.32, or 0.3%, to 517.23.

Declining issues led advancers 15 to 14 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 984.04 million shares, compared with the 903.96 million at the same point on Monday.