Tuesday's early afternoon trade: blue chip tech stocks lift Dow to intraday record high

Blue chip technology stocks led Wall Street higher, lifting the Dow to a record intraday high by early afternoon trading on Tuesday after investors used the morning's modest decline as an opportunity to buy.
Microsoft shares ranked as the Dow's top percentage gainer, up 3.9 percent at $29.72. Intel Corp shares shot up 3.1 percent to $21.74, and helped push the semiconductor index up 1.1 percent. Hewlett-Packard rose 1.5 percent to $22.25.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 14,700 to touch a fresh intraday record high. The three major US stock indexes fluctuated between gains and losses in the morning as forecasts for US first-quarter earnings have been scaled back. Profits are seen rising just 1.5 percent from a year-ago quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data. In January, earnings were forecast to rise 4.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 83.81 points, or 0.57 percent, at 14,697.29, after earlier reaching a record intraday high at 14,706.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 9.04 points, or 0.58 percent, at 1,572.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.70 points, or 0.74 percent, at 3,245.95.