Split vote on Wall Street

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Cisco's strong results gave tech stocks a boost but the broader market struggled Thursday afternoon as oil prices jumped and investors further digested the results of the congressional elections.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 8.02 to 2,392.96, Charts) rose about 0.4 percent some three hours into the session, giving back bigger opening gains. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq closed at its highest level since February 2001.

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The Dow Jones industrial average (down 36.50 to 12,140.04, Charts) lost 0.2 percent, after ending the previous session at a fresh all-time high. The broader S&P 500 (down 1.21 to 1,384.51, Charts) index was little changed.

Stocks rose modestly Wednesday at the end of a tough session as investors tried to come to terms with the reality of Democrats controlling all of Congress, something the market had not been expecting.

The implications of the new political landscape remained in focus Thursday, but shared the stage with corporate and economic news.

"Stocks had a big run-up leading into the election and now there's almost a little fatigue, with investors wondering what the next leg up will be," said Peter Dunay, investment strategist at Leeb Capital Management.

He said that the reaction over the last two days shows that the stock market is not unhappy with the prospect of gridlock - with Congress and the White House controlled by separate parties. However, now investors want to return the focus to the fundamentals, including corporate news and the economy.

Cisco Systems (up $1.79 to $26.89, Charts) rallied nearly 8 percent near noon Thursday and gave a boost to the broader tech sector.

After the close Wednesday, Cisco reported higher fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales that topped estimates. The company also issued a bullish fiscal second-quarter revenue outlook.

A variety of gold and silver industry stocks rallied, jumping in tune with the price of the raw commodity.

The Amex Gold Bugs (up $10.62 to $338.12, Charts) index added 3.2 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (up $4.51 to $128.68, Charts) index added 3.4 percent.

But drug, defense and healthcare stocks continued to slip, reflecting Wall Street's concerns about how new Democratic Party legislation might impact those sectors.

Dow 30 components Merck (down $1.24 to $43.10, Charts), Johnson & Johnson (down $1.31 to $66.68, Charts) and Pfizer (down $0.63 to $25.99, Charts) all declined.

Dow stocks Verizon Communications (down $0.62 to $36.24, Charts) and AT&T (down $0.69 to $33.68, Charts) also slipped on concerns that a bill related to telecom-reform legislation won't go through with a Democratic Party-controlled Congress.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers and winners were roughly even on volume of 750 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers four to three on volume of 1.17 billion shares.

In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than what analysts were expecting in September, due to lower oil prices and record exports.

Weekly jobless claims fell a greater-than-expected 20,000 to 308,000, reflecting strength in the labor market.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery rose $1.32 to $61.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices were little changed from late Wednesday, with the yield on the 10-year note holding at 4.63 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold rose $15.70 to $634 an ounce.

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