US STOCKS rose for a fourth straight session yesterday, with the S&P 500 ending at a record as large-cap technology shares climbed, though continued weakness in crude oil prices weighed on the energy sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 154.57 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 17,959.37, the S&P 500 gained 7.89 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 2,078.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.04 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 4,781.42.

Tech was the strongest sector of the day, with the S&P information technology sector up 1.1 per cent. Intel rose 2.3 per cent to $37.21, providing the biggest boost to the Dow, while IBM was up 1.8 per cent to $161.44 and Cisco Systems climbed 1.6 per cent to $28.22.

In the energy sector, Chesapeake Energy fell 7.3 per cent to $18.42 while Southwestern Energy was off 5.5 per cent at $29.31.