NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. blue chips advanced in late trading Wednesday thanks to a handful of improved profit reports, but high-tech stocks cowered.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 94.96, or 0.90 percent, to 10,623.62 on Big Board volume of 1.7 billion shares traded, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 0.26, or 5.53 percent, to 2,142.32, and the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index gained 8.85, or 0.78 percent, to 1,147.62.
With the quarterly-earnings season in full swing, corporate results are the market's main focus. While results are better -- and often better than expected -- Wall Street has been buying for months in anticipation of this news, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The dollar was weaker. It traded at 106.880 yen, down from 107.07. The euro rose against the dollar to $1.06.88 from $1.2580.
In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 stock average ended down 100.71 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,002.39. In London the FTSE 100 stock index rose 11.90, or 0.26 percent, to 4,511.20.
