biggest boost and also helped lift the S&P 500. Intel's shares gained 0.6 percent, or 17 cents, to $26.81 on NASDAQ, following a report from Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics, an industry group, said the utilization rate of the world's microchip plants rose for a second straight quarter, underlining a steady recovery in the global chip industry. Limiting the NASDAQ's gain was Dow component Microsoft Corp. Its stock fell 0.6 percent, or 16 cents, to $27.76 after the world's top software maker said on Wednesday that some Xbox 360 owners are reporting problems with the new video game console that debuted in North America earlier this week. Trading was light on the NYSE, with about 541.9 million shares changing hands, sharply below last year's daily average of 1.46 billion, while on the NASDAQ, about 650.8 million shares traded, also well below last year's daily average of 1.81 billion. Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 3 to 2 on the NYSE. On the NASDAQ, the stocks that rose slightly edged out those that fell, with 1,454 stocks up and 1,369 stocks down.
