US stocks ended a quiet session today with a moderate gain on strong earnings news and a decline in the trade deficit.

Wall Street’s hopes of prolonging its year-end rally suffered another blow today as cautious traders sold off stocks and the technology sector posted a steep decline.

Investors concerned about slowing economic growth in the United States sent stocks sharply lower today after the Federal Reserve said it would continue raising interest rates.

Oil supply concerns and broker downgrades of blue-chip companies left stocks mixed today, raising doubts that Wall Street’s year-end rally would continue.

US retail sales out this afternoon show that August was a bit softer than July but all the weakness was in car sales.

Lured once more by lower prices, buyers returned to Wall Street late today.

A stronger-than-expected forecast from Compaq Computer failed to incite buying on Wall Street today as investors, playing it cautious, decided to collect some of their profits from last week’s rally.

A stronger-than-expected forecast from Compaq Computer has failed to incite buying on Wall Street.

A strong jump in November housing construction propelled stock prices to sharp gains on Wall Street today and fuelled investors’ hopes that the US economy is improving.