US stocks higher

Technology stocks advanced again on Wall Street today, positioning the Nasdaq composite index for a five-session winning streak, as the market again celebrated from Microsoft's appeals court win.

However, technical glitches held up trading of Nasdaq stocks, prompting the exchange to extend its trading an hour to 5pm and delayed the compilation of major market indexes.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 63.81 to 10,502.40, hurt mostly by fears that the merger General Electric and Honeywell is dead.

The market's broader indicators were higher. The Nasdaq composite index, which has not had a down day this week, was up 43.85 at 2,169.31. Wall Street's broadest measure, the Standard & Poor's 500 index, fell 2.29 to 1,223.91.

On the last day of a dismal quarter, one that was marred by more than 600 profit warnings, analysts said the market was beginning to look ahead.

With six interest rate cuts this year - the latest on Wednesday - investors believe business could turn around in the second half of 2001.

Technology stocks continued to benefit by association with Microsoft. But the software maker retreated slightly from its gains of Thursday. Microsoft, a Dow industrial, slipped 93 cents to $71.81.

Tech advancers included two of the Dow's other tech components. hewlett-Packard rose $1.35 to $28.60, and Intel advanced 78 cents to $30.42.

But the Dow's gain was severely limited by Honeywell, its biggest loser. Honeywell tumbled $3.10 to $35.10 after proposing to reduce the price of GE's takeover offer by more than $1bn and to sell off units worth $2.1bn to win the necessary approval from the European Union.

GE's CEO Jack Welch rejected the proposal, saying it made no sense for shareholders and that it still fell short of what EU regulators are seeking. GE, also a Dow industrial, slipped 12 cents to $48.75.