Stocks rose in New York yesterday as blue chips surged on encouraging economic data. Concerns for a second-half earnings slowdown kept technology stocks from broader gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 119.04 at 11,027.80. It marked the first time since April that the blue chip index has crossed the 11,000 threshold.

Broader stock indicators were also higher.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index was up 11.59 at 1,471.84, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 29.48 at 3,789.47, having recovered from a loss of 60 points earlier in the session.

Analysts said a pattern has emerged recently in which investors react to whatever news is released on a given day, causing markets to fluctuate from session to session.

"The market is kind of directionless. People seem to be grasping, looking for some fundamental issue to hang their hat on," said John Caldwell, director of portfolio strategies for McDonald Investments in Cleveland.

Today, for example, blue chip investors were encouraged by an inflation report that showed that US wholesale prices remained virtually the same in July after a huge jump in June caused by soaring energy costs.