NEW YORK, Sept 9 (AFP) - US shares closed mixed Thursday, with the tech sector buoyed by an improved outlook from Finnish mobile telephone maker Nokia, while blue chips lagged amid a spike in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back early gains and lost 11.87 points (0.12 percent) to end at 10,301.49, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 22.23 points (1.20 percent) to 1,872.87.
The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index edged up 3.78 points (0.34 percent) to 1,120.05.
The tech sector, which has been lagging recently, got a lift as Nokia said it now sees earnings above its earlier forecasts. And in the semiconductor area, Texas Instruments said it expects third-quarter earnings above the midpoint of its current target range.
"A rebound in semiconductor stocks led the Nasdaq higher but the Dow was stuck in negative territory as oil prices surged," said Alfred Goldman at AG Edwards.
"Steel and semiconductors were top performers in the index groups."
In a positive economic sign, the US government said weekly unemployment claims plunged by 44,000 in the week ended September 4, to 319,000. It was the biggest decline in initial claims since December 2001 and better than the figure of 345,000 expected on Wall Street.
Analysts debated the impact of the surge in oil prices back above the 44 dollar a barrel level.
"I think this (oil prices) has been exaggerated as a market influence. I think the market's really consolidating the big gains of last week," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer and Co.
John Hughes, market analyst at Shields and Co., said stocks may be poised to move up after churning in a narrow range for the past eight months.
"If we break above this level it really changes the whole complexion of the year so far to what we perceive as much more positive," Hughes said.
"If you just trade around up here in these very narrow ranges for a couple of weeks you're going to work off all that overbought situation and all that buying that was built up and you're going to create an opportunity without any significant pullback."
European share prices turned weaker as markets looked past Nokia's upbeat outlook and fretted over mixed economic signals.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.45 percent to close at 4,538.
In Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.69 percent to finish at 3,652.02, while in Frankfurt the DAX gave up 0.85 percent and closed at 3,851.22.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone issues lost 0.59 percent to reach 2,730.74.
In London AstraZeneca fell 4.16 percent to 2,510 pence on indications that the US Food and Drug Administration might not approve distribution of its anticoagulant Exanta.
Nokia shares traded on Wall Street rallied 1.01 to 13.72 after the Finnish market leader boosted its third-quarter earnings outlook. US rival Motorola followed the trend, rising 90 cents to 16.00.
Among other US firms, Texas Instruments jumped 2.06 to 20.89 after announcing that earnings would top expectations because of a tax benefit despite weak sales, and that demand for its cell phone chips was tracking its expectations.
Apple Computer however dipped 53 cents to 35.82 after after the stock was downgraded by Bear Stearns to "peer perform" from "outperform" due to valuation.
Airline stocks were mixed with Delta Air Lines extending its losses from the previous session after its last-ditch restructuring plan was announced.
Delta, which took the wraps off its turnaround plan Wednesday, lost nine cents to 3.95. American Airlines parent AMR was unchanged at 9.22 after announcing it would try to take over some of Delta's slots at Dallas-Fort Worth hub. Continental added 10 cents to 9.47.
Bonds were modestly lower. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond edged up to 4.199 percent from 4.163 percent Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond to 4.988 percent from 4.954 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.