BLUE-CHIP stocks posted modest gains despite a jittery bond market spooked by fears of fresh inflationary pressures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.16 points to close at 6,437.10.

Some 486 million shares changed hands in a mixed session on the New York Stock Exchange, as losers narrowly outpaced winners 1,274 to 1,222 with 807 issues unchanged.

On the bond market, the yield on the bellwether 30 year Treasury bond shot up to 6.50 percent from 6.39 per cent late Wednesday.

Bond prices, which move in the opposite direction as interest rates, slipped on the unexpectedly strong drop of 8,000 in jobless claims. The consensus forecast had been for a more modest 1,000 claim decline.

Gains were posted on the secondary NASDAQ market, powered by oil stocks that surged as the January crude price rose 68 cents to end at 25.48 dollars.