NEW YORK, US - US stocks rose on Wednesday as a range of technology companies posted results that showed the sector's resiliency in the face of an economic slowdown.

The Nasdaq gained 1 per cent after Broadcom Corp, a top chipmaker for cell phones, beat its quarterly revenue target.

The results fuelled a 4.1 per cent jump in an index of semiconductor stocks and set a positive tone for the entire sector.

Boeing drove the Dow industrials higher after news that strong deliveries of commercial planes boosted its profits.

Companies like Boeing with big international sales have outperformed companies with a more domestic focus.

'The four industries that provided leadership last year have been outperforming: energy, materials, industrials and technology. Those are the most globalised sectors, so it's not too surprising that they're doing well,' said Mr Brian Gendreau, investment strategist at ING Investment Management, in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.99 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 12,763.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.99 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,379.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 28.27 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close at 2,405.21.

Shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple fell 2.8 per cent to US$158.35 (S$214) in extended-hours trading after it gave a profit outlook for its current quarter below Wall Street's estimates and its CFO said the company sees third-quarter gross margins flat with the second quarter. The stock ended the regular session up 1.7 per cent, or US$2.69, at US$162.89 on Nasdaq.

Broadcom leaps, Boeing climbs

Shares of Broadcom, which cited strength in wireline, enterprise and broadband, jumped 16.3 per cent to US$27.39 on the Nasdaq, during the session.

Also this reporting period, investors cheered results by IBM, Intel and Google.

Shares of Boeing jumped 4.5 per cent to US$82.09.

Shares of property and casualty insurer Safeco Corp soared 45.8 per cent to US$65.94 and topped the list of biggest percentage gainers on the New York Stock Exchange after diversified insurer Liberty Mutual group said it agreed to buy the company for US$6.2 billion in cash.

Ambac sinks on subprime woes

The Dow and S&P briefly turned lower around midday as shares of Ambac Financial Group slid on worries about the bond insurer's outlook and investors fretted anew about the impact of the subprime mortgage fallout.

Early in the day, Ambac posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss.

Ambac plunged 42.6 per cent to US$3.46, its worst slide in more than three months, while shares of rival MBIA dropped 33.8 per cent to US$8.79. An S&P index of financial shares was down 0.8 per cent.

Also on the up side was Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris International which raised its full-year earnings forecast, citing currency benefits.

Philip Morris gained 3.9 per cent to US$52.

Trading was moderate on the NYSE, with about 1.35 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.18 billion shares traded, just below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 8 to 7 while advancers beat decliners on the Nasdaq by about 15 to 13. -- REUTERS