Technology, bank shares boost Wall Street

Technology and bank stocks led most shares up on Wall Street Tuesday.

Financial stocks were buoyed by news that 10 of the largest US banks which received emergency government bail-out funds at the height of the financial crisis last year have been authorised to repay the money.

The Treasury Department will receive as much as $68 billion as the financial institutions begin buying back government holdings in the firms. The department's decision is cautiously seen as an indication the financial sector has begun to stabilise.

Credit card issuer American Express jumped five percent for the biggest gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Computer chip maker Texas Instruments, which announced better than expected earnings forecasts, pushed up tech stocks. The sector gained the most of any industry on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained one percent.

Texas Instruments shares earned 6.3 percent.

The blue-chip Dow lost 1.43 points, or 0.02 percent, to 8,763.06. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index picked up 3.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 942.43. The Nasdaq gained 17.73 points, or one percent, to 1,860.13.

The dollar slid against the euro to 71.11 euro cents from 71.93 euro cents Monday. The dollar also fell against the Japanese currency to 97.38 yen from 98.47 yen.