U.S. technology stocks got a lift on Tuesday from semiconductor shares that gained on a brokerage upgrade, but crude prices near record levels and mixed earnings forecasts weighed on the Dow and Standard & Poor's 500. Crude oil futures earlier rose to $59.70, the highest for prompt crude since NYMEX launched crude futures trading in 1983. July delivery crude, which expired at the close, settled at $58.90 a barrel, shedding 47 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Chip stocks rose after Lehman Brothers raised its rating on the semiconductor sector to "positive" from "neutral." Dow component Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker, closed 1 percent higher at $27.18, while the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index rose 0.71 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 9.44 points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 10,599.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.49 points, or 0.20 percent, to finish at 1,213.61. But the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.94 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,091.07. --More 0024 Local Time 2124 GMT
