Technology companies boosted U.S. blue chip stocks to a narrow gain Thursday, as confidence mounted that the economy would avoid a double dip recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 22.10 points, or 0.21%, at 10594.83, its highest close since Aug. 10.

Technology stocks led the climb, as investors gained faith that the economic recovery is slowing but not headed toward a second slump.

Leading the Dow Industrials' climb, Hewlett-Packard rose 73 cents, or 1.8%, to 40.35, while Cisco Systems gained 34 cents, or 1.6%, to 21.93 and Intel added 25 cents, or 1.3%, to 18.97.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slipped 0.41, or 0.04%, to 1124.66. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 1.93, or 0.08%, to 2303.25. While all the benchmark indexes have surged this month, the Nasdaq has outpaced its peers.

The measure has climbed 8.95% since the start of September as fears of a double dip recession have relaxed. The Nasdaq has climbed for seven straight sessions, its longest streak since the seven-day run that ended July 14. Meanwhile, the DJIA has gained 5.79% this month, while the S&P 500 has added 7.18%.

Still, recent muddy economic data have left investors hesitant about the rally's sustainability and kept trading confined to a narrow range.

As concerns over the economy have loosened their grip, anxiety rose Thursday over U.S. lawmakers' aggressive stance on China's exchange-rate policy and the potential to strain relations with China.

European market

European stocks finished lower Thursday after an unexpected drop in U.K. retail sales, while German industrial conglomerate Siemens gained after a bullish assessment from brokers.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.8% to 263.47, with gains for some oil and gas heavyweights helping partially offset broad declines in most other industries. In the energy sector, BP and Royal Dutch Shell both rose 1.1%.

Among the regional indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index slipped 0.5% to 3,736.30. The German DAX 30 fell 0.2% to 6,249.65.

Traders are also likely looking ahead to Friday's triple witching expiration of stock index futures and options as well as stock options, which often leads to a surge in volatility. Siemens was one of the strongest performers in Europe, rallying 2.9% in Frankfurt.

Morgan Stanley lifted its rating on the conglomerate to overweight from equal weight, citing a cheap valuation and the potential for stronger dividends. Goldman Sachs also highlighted the stock as one of its so-called conviction buys.

Asian market

Asian stock markets ended mostly lower with Chinese banks falling sharply on worries about a possible interest rate hike by the People's Bank of China.

The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.1% in Tokyo, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.9%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.2%.

China's Shanghai Composite dropped as much as 2.6% during the session, with banks taking a tumble on rising concerns about the possibility of an interest rate hike as well as a report suggesting the authorities may lift banks' capital adequacy ratios.

Agricultural Bank of China dropped 1.9% to CNY2.63, falling below its initial public offering price of CNY2.68 for the first time, while China Construction Bank dropped 2.0%. In Hong Kong, AgBank shares fell 2.6%, while CCB shares shed 0.6%.

Japanese shares reversed early gains to end lower as the yen recovered from its sharp fall in the previous session in the wake of authorities' currency market intervention, but exporters outperformed the market. Among exporters, Toyota Motor rose 1.7%, Toshiba Corp. added 0.5% and Sony Corp. gained 1.7%, supporting the broader market.

Base Metals

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange mostly closed marginally higher Thursday after drifting in their recent ranges for much of the session, with mixed U.S. data failing to provide any clear direction. Market sentiment took a boost from a Labor Department report showing unemployment benefit claims unexpectedly fell last week to their lowest level in two months.

But the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia business activity index later disappointed with a slight contraction reported for September.

Economists had forecast a flat reading. Throughout the session, though, the metals found support in a stronger euro, which peaked at one month highs against the dollar.

Market players reported lower volumes ahead of national holidays in China, which start next week. This increased volatility in the markets, analysts noted.

LME three month copper closed 1.1% higher compared to Wednesday's PM kerb close. Three month zinc closed up 0.1% and three month lead down 1.5%.

Crude oil futures prices dropped for the third straight day Thursday as a scheduled restart of a major pipeline rekindled oversupply concerns in the world's biggest oil consumer.

Enbridge Energy Partners said its crude oil pipeline that can carry 670,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude oil to the U.S. Midwest is scheduled to return to service Friday after a week long shutdown to repair a leak.

The line has capacity to handle one third of U.S. imports of crude from Canada, the U.S.'s biggest foreign supplier. News of the shutdown had pushed crude to a one month high near $78 a barrel earlier this week. But the scheduled restart sent prices to a one week intraday low of $74.11 a barrel.

Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 1.9%, or $1.45, at $74.57 a barrel. On the ICE, North Sea Brent for November delivery settled down 94 cents, or 1.2%, at $78.48 a barrel.

Gold futures posted a new record settlement as the U.S. dollar weakened and investors wanted more of the precious metal as a haven while equities eased.

The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, rose $5.10, or 0.4%, to a record settlement of $1,273.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract hit an intraday high of $1,279.50, the loftiest point ever for a most active contract, in electronic activity before New York floor trading opened.