Stocks closed mixed in New York yesterday amid lingering gloom on Wall Street about corporate profits and higher oil prices. The uncertainty ended a two-day rally in the high-tech sector.

Investors again unloaded stocks of companies that issued warnings of disappointing profits. Technology and brokerage firms were among the hardest hit. The buying represented a shift away from the downward momentum of the past few sessions.

But broader indicators were lower. The Nasdaq composite index fell 68.56, or 1.8 per cent, to 3,828.88 and the Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 2.29 to close at 1,449.05.

Even a report by one of Wall Street's most prominent analysts that the economy remains quite favourable for the markets failed to halt the selling.

Rising oil prices also have investors worried. The price of a barrel on crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $36.33, down from the $37 range it reached in recent days, but still at levels not seen in a decade.

Tyre maker Goodyear fell $2.88 to $18.13 after the company warned that its quarterly earnings would be sluggish because of higher oil prices and the weak euro.