Blue-chips ended higher on Thursday, while technology stocks slipped on concerns over Applied Materials's bleak earnings. Energy-related stocks fell as the price of crude oil plummeted.

Applied Materials dropped $1.62, or 4 per cent to $39.09 after its profits sank 97 per cent.

Oil stocks continued to slide as crude oil prices slumped again amid squabbles between OPEC and its rivals over oil-output curbs.

Exxon Mobil Corp fell $1.51, or 3.9 per cent, to $37.19.

Airline and hotel stocks rose, rebounding after Monday's plane crash in New York.

In the latest economic data, manufacturing activity in the US mid-Atlantic region contracted for the 12th month in a row in November, but the pace of deceleration slowed, according to a survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Hopes for an economic snapback next year, fuelled by sharp interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and a hefty stimulus package by Washington, have lifted stocks well off lows hit after September 11th.