STOCKS were mixed yesterday as blue chips nudged higher and technology issues retreated in a session in which prices danced up and down throughout the day.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.24 points to close at 6,931.62.

Friday's "double-witching" expiration of stock and stock-index options contracts helped keep the market volatile, said Mr Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.

Without any economic news to excite the market, stocks were lower at the start of trading, bounced back by mid-morning, then seesawed again. Heavy profit-taking in the technology sector forced the Nasdaq down.