Technology stocks climbed for the second straight day yesterday as investors looked beyond earnings warnings and a cooling US economy, and bought into an anticipated market recovery.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 61.55 points to end at 2,204.47, according to the latest data, adding to Monday's rally of more than 1 per cent after plunging 22 per cent in February. "We have companies saying that one quarter, maybe two, [will be bad] but a lot of people are thinking that eventually things will get better," said Ms Donna Van Vlack of Brandywine Asset Management, which has $7 billion under management.

Chip makers Xilinx, Varian Semiconductor Equipment Asso- ciates and TriQuint Semiconductor ratcheted down their sales estimates in the soft economy. But all three stocks shot higher as investors crossed their fingers that the worst was over.