Strong Earnings Keep Technology Rally Alive

Another encouraging earnings report in the computer industry sent technology stocks shooting higher again Tuesday. The powerful rally lifted the Nasdaq composite index to its fourth straight record and brought its gains to 6.3 percent in less than two weeks.

A jump in oil prices helped lift the struggling Dow Jones industrial average.

The Dow industrials rose 23.85 points, mostly on gains in its three oil stocks, to close at 5,588.59. The Dow spent much of the session with a gain of less than 10 points, once again lagging the broader market’s record-setting trend over the past week.

Technology stocks, which have resumed their leadership role after a sharp sell-off that began late last year, rallied strongly after Digital Equipment issued the latest in a series of strong earnings reports that indicate the industry is not as bad off as feared.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was heavy at 452.68 million shares as of 4 p.m., well above Monday’s pace.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday:

NYSE

Digital Equipment, up 5-1/4 to 60-5/8.

The computer maker said its earnings rose 68 percent in the first three months of this year on strong sales in its storage and server lines. The profit of $124 million, or 74 cents a share, for Digital’s fiscal third quarter matched many Wall Street estimates.

Exxon, up 2-5/8 to 84-5/8.

Chevron, up 1-3/4 to 57-1/2.

Texaco, up 1-3/4 to 85-5/8.

Mobil, up 3-1/4 to 116.

Amerada Hess, up 2 to 57-1/2.

Amoco, up 1-5/8 to 73-3/4.

Atlantic Richfield, up 3 to 118-5/8.

Oil stocks rose with oil prices amid news the United States and Britain have pushed the United Nations to toughen its negotiating position with Iraq over a possible oil-for-food deal. Energy stocks struggled Monday amid indications of progress in the Iraq talks.

Southwest Airlines, down 2-1/8 at 30-3/4.

The low-fare carrier reported that first-quarter profits nearly tripled due to higher traffic, but the results were shy of many analyst estimates.

NASDAQ

Iomega, up 10-5/8 to 51-7/8.

The stock soared 26 percent, building on an 11 percent jump Monday, as the computer component maker announced a stock split and held a boisterous annual meeting where shareholders cheered the fast-growing company’s performance.

Netscape Communications, up 3-7/8 to 61-3/4.

The maker of the leading software for finding information on the Internet reported that it earned $4.7 million, or 6 cents per share, in the first quarter, exceeding Wall Street forecasts.