Chip Stocks Help Nasdaq Eke Out Gain

A gain in chip stocks helped the Nasdaq eke out a small gain Monday, but the broader market slipped after a strong manufacturing report raised fears of more Fed rate hikes.

The chip sector rose 0.6% after the Semiconductor Industry Association reported that chip sales rose 3.2% from July to August to $18.6 billion, driven by strong PC, cell phone and consumer electronics sales.

AMD , Micron and Nvidia were among those gaining on the news.

The broader market slipped after the national ISM manufacturing report showed a big jump in raw materials prices, fanning inflation fears.

The Nasdaq rose 3 to 2155, the S&P lost 2 to 1226, and the Dow fell 33 to 10,535. Volume declined to 2.05 billion shares on the NYSE, but rose to 1.87 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 18-14 on the NYSE, and 16-14 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 55% on the NYSE, and 57% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 230-57 on the NYSE, and 161-42 on the Nasdaq.

BlindView rose 10% on news that it will be acquired by Symantec .

Lexar soared 18% on a JP Morgan upgrade.

Sun rose 6.6% on expectations of a partnership with Google .

Affiliated Computer lost 3% on a change at the top.

Vitesse lost 10% on a warning.

Telewest edged higher on plans to merge with NTL .