Blue-Chip stocks rallied in the last hour of trading yesterday to match a powerful surge in technology stocks that had the Nasdaq composite index soaring all day.

Blue chip stocks were hampered most of the day by fears that Federal Reserve Chairman Mr Alan Greenspan might attempt to cool the market's recent advances when he testifies on Wednesday before the House Ways and Means Committee.

After stumbling nervously, the market kept rising. In the first trading week of this year, the Dow industrials gained 5 per cent.

Embarking on its third trading week of the year, it is trading up about 2 per cent for the year.