U.S. blue chips edged higher on Tuesday, lifted by IBM, but weakness in technology shares took some of the shine off the market as aluminum maker Alcoa and others launched the reporting season with better-than-expected earnings, according to Reuters. Weakness among semiconductor companies following a sales warning on Monday from Xilinx Inc. kept the Nasdaq Composite Index lower. Xilinx fell 2.2 percent to $22.28. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 30.26 points, or 0.30 percent, at 10,269.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.32 point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,187.01. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.36 points, or 0.64 percent, at 2,065.56. "The trend on the market is still down," said Mike Viracola, managing director at brokerage Adams Harkness in Boston. "In general, technology seems to be the weakest part and that seems to be selling off despite OK numbers," he added. He said the market could bide time until more earnings reports were in, giving a clearer picture about the prospects for the remainder of the year. "People have been looking for companies to say we've weathered the storm -- no pun intended -- whether it's the hurricane stuff or the macro things," said Viracola. --More 2319 Local Time 2019 GMT
