US stocks rise on lower oil prices

Bargain hunters kept Wall Street mixed today, allowing blue chips to rise despite a new record high for oil prices. But fresh warnings from semiconductor firms sent the tech sector falling, and the three major indexes ended the week substantially lower.

Oil prices pushed past the previous record close of 48.70 US dollars on August 19, renewing investors’ fears of 50 dollars-per-barrel prices. A barrel of light crude for November delivery settled at 48.88 dollars, up 42 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.