Blue chips fell yesterday as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's "very close to zero" view of economic growth, yet technology names rallied as bargain hunters were enticed by an early sell-off.

"It was looking like it was going to be a total bloodbath," said Mr Charles Payne, head analyst at Wall Street Strategies. "Instead, investors are buying on weakness."

Early in the day, sellers took control as communications chip maker PMC-Sierra warned of weaker than expected first-quarter results. The news weighed on Nasdaq giant Cisco Systems, PMCSierra's main customer.

PMC did not participate in the rebound, ending the day $21.88 lower, or 22.8 per cent, at $74, though Cisco rose off a session-low of $36.19 to close at $38.38, down 94 US cents.