Mumbai, Jan. 5 -- The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 6.36 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 23,235.63, the S&P 500 crept up 12.97 points (0.2%) to 6,858.47. The narrower Dow showed a more notable move to the upside, climbing 319.10 points (0.7%) to 48,382.39.

The advance by the blue chip index on the day came amid strong gains by Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and Goldman Sachs (GS). A lack of major U.S. economic data may also have kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports next week, including the closely watched monthly jobs report.

Semiconductor stocks substantially moved upwards, resulting in a 4.0% surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron Technology (MU) helped to lead the se...