U.S. technology stocks rose for a third consecutive day on Thursday after upbeat sales growth outlooks for two leading companies, while the Dow and Standard & Poor's 500 stock gauges eked out negligible gains, reported Reuters. A disappointing profit forecast by retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a brokerage downgrade of Boeing Co.'s stock helped drag on the Dow average. Enthusiasm about new products being showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas -- the largest U.S. technology trade show -- suggested demand for semiconductors could be strong in 2006. Shares of programmable-chip maker Xilinx Inc. rose 6 percent to $28.55 on the Nasdaq after it boosted its quarterly sales forecast. ID:nN046138, while Cisco Systems Inc. shares jumped 2.8 percent to $18.35 after an analyst at Citigroup said that the communications equipment maker's revenue growth is poised to accelerate in 2006. ID:nN05213238 The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 2.00 points, or 0.02 percent, at 10,882.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.02 points, or 0.00 percent, at 1,273.48. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.41 points, or 0.59 percent, at 2,276.87. --More 01 21 Local Time 22 21 GMT
