ABC Online; Technology stocks have been the frontrunners in the latest trading session on Wall Street.
While the high-tech sector has staged a solid advance, mainstream share prices have fallen back a little.
It has been the semiconductor sector which has fired investor enthusiasm, with Intel Corporation a focus.
There has been an upbeat earnings report from the online auction house, eBay.
The 77 per cent rise in its quarterly profits has produced a gain of more than 9 per cent in its share price.
Overall, the high-tech Nasdaq market is up more than 1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite index has gained 21 points to 1,954.
On the economic front, there has been a fourth successive monthly decline in a key forward indicator of the American economy.
The private-sector Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators has slipped point-one of a point in September, raising concerns about a loss of momentum in US activity.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones industrial average has finished 21 points lower at 9,866.
Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar and the number one insurer American International Group have been the key contributors to the decline.
On the British share market, weakness among the banks has been offset by a rise in drugs group, AstraZeneca.
London's FT-100 index has closed just 1 point ahead at 4,617.
Yesterday the Australian share market crept higher, supported by the big miners and share registry group, Computershare, after a $400 million acquisition in the US.
The All Ordinaries index added five-points to three-thousand-716.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index 200 contract has closed up three points at 3,717.
The 10-year bond contract is down 3.5 points at 94.66, with the implied yield rising to 5.34 per cent.
On foreign exchange markets the American dollar has sagged to an eight-month low against the euro on worries about US economic prospects.
The Australian dollar has consolidated a little. About 7:00am (AEST), it was being quoted at 73.69 US cents, unchanged from yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates, it was at 0.5842 euros, 79.38 Japanese yen, 40.33 pence sterling and 1.064 New Zealand dollars.
The gold price was sitting at around $US423.85 an ounce. The spot price for West Texas crude oil remains elevated at $US54.51 a barrel.
