Among other telephone-company suppliers, Corning Inc, the world's biggest maker of fiber-optic cable, dropped US$0.09 to US$1.99. JDS Uniphase Corp, the biggest maker of fiber-optic parts, declined US$0.03 to US$2.54.
Department stores rose as a government report showed retail sales climbed more than expected last month, spurred by low-interest financing for automobiles and purchases of furniture and building supplies. Sales increased 0.8 percent to US$306.2 billion, beating the forecast 0.5 percent advance.
Wal-Mart, the biggest department store operation, rose US$1.25 to US$54.37. Home Depot Inc, the world's largest home-improvement chain, added US$0.77 to US$33.25.
"The consumer is still the stalwart behind the economy," said Michael Strauss, who helps manage about US$30 billion at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. "The message that's coming through and has been coming through is that if the price is right, consumers are buying."
Pepsi Bottling Group Inc gained US$1.83 to US$26.36 and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc added US$0.63 to US$20.99. Goldman, Sachs & Co analyst Mark Cohen raised them to its "recommended list" from "market outperform."
Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, added US$0.26 to US$15.96. Its rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it's delaying the desktop personal-computer version of its Hammer chip by a few months, a setback in its push to win market share.
Adobe jumped US$1.98 to US$20.43. The world's biggest maker of graphic-design software said third-quarter profit rose, and sales fell less than forecast.
``It's a positive release out of a tech company,'' said Mark Donahoe, managing director of institutional trading at US.
Bancorp Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. "People were expecting the numbers for next year would be coming down and they didn't."
Other software shares rose. Microsoft Corp, the world's biggest software maker, gained US$0.37 to US$47.52. Oracle Corp, which makes database software used to store and retrieve information, added US$0.21 to US$9.69.
Biogen Inc fell US$1.72 to US$32.67. The FDA will review additional information for the company's application for its Amevive psoriasis drug within six months. The regulatory agency had an option of reviewing the additional information over a shorter span of two months, Biogen said.
Baxter International Inc fell US$0.60 to US$31.99. The maker of blood treatments told the US Food and Drug Administration that tubing used in some of its dialysis machines might be linked to five patient deaths.
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