US blue chips sank as investors viewed news of a tight job market as diminishing the chance of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut, but technology stocks rose on Qualcomm's solid earnings news.

Surprisingly good earnings from the wireless technology company whetted investors' appetites for some beaten-down tech names and lifted the Nasdaq. The index gained 5.3 per cent on the week.

Interest rate worries weighed down consumer cyclicals, financials and utilities, contributing to the fall on the Dow Jones. The latest employment data from the Labor Department showed the pace of job creation slowed in October, adding to a growing pile of evidence indicating that the pace of US economic growth is easing. But the report offered few indications that the robust labour market, which Federal Reserve officials have long worried might push up inflation, was loosening.