Stocks rose yesterday led by semiconductor makers and other computer-related issues, as investors bet that technology shares would weather a slowing US economy.

Wall Street was in a buying mood after a rise in weekly jobless claims indicated the red-hot economy is cooling, which bolstered hopes the Federal Reserve will stand still on interest rates at next Tuesday's policy-setting meeting.

Semiconductor stocks led the way. climbing 3.50 percent. Intel, the largest producer of semiconductors, gained $2 at $70.06 (€76.59).

The Dow's rise came despite a drop in Hewlett-Packard after the computer maker and Dow component reported lacklustre sales of servers. Hewlett-Packard finished down $3.81 at $107.63 (€117.67).