US STOCKS-Techs rise, helped by falling oil price

                                
 * Oil price tumble helps techs, airlines, retailers
                                
 * Citigroup shares fall on CFO warning on write-downs
                                
 * Financials weigh on the broader market
 (Updates to midafternoon)
                                
 By Walker Simon
                                
 NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq rose on Thursday
as top technology companies and other exporters benefited from
tumbling oil prices, seen as easing strains on global economic
growth.
                                
 But the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes were little changed,
restrained by an extended slide in financial companies that was
triggered by Citgroup's warning of write-downs in subprime
mortgages.
                                
 U.S. oil prices <Clc1> fell $4.13 a barrel to $132.53 a
barrel on the belief that demand will take a hit after China
raised gasoline and diesel prices by 18 percent, its first
domestic fuel hike in eight months.
                                
  Shares of big manufacturers, including Boeing Co <BA.N>
and DuPont Co <DD.N>, rose on the back of the lower oil prices.
Retailers' shares also benefited, with Costco Wholesale Corp
<COST.O> up 0.7 percent. Both sectors were helped by the view
that lower oil prices would take less of a toll on business and
consumer spending.
                                
 Fuel-sensitive airlines soared, with the stock of several
major carriers like Delta Air Lines <DAL.N> jumping at least 8
percent.
                                
 "Lower oil prices are good for the consumer; you could
expect consumer spending to improve," said William Rutherford,
of Rutherford Investment Management LLC in Portland, Oregon.
"It will also lighten the load on the global economy and that
helps big manufacturers and technology companies whose foreign
sales make up the bulk of their sales."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 14.00
points, or 0.12 percent, at 12,043.06. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.35 points, or 0.10 percent, at
1,339.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 19.20
points, or 0.79 percent, at 2,448.91.
                                
 Among technology companies, Intel Corp <INTC.O>, the
world's No. 1 chipmaker, rose 2.3 percent to $22.78, and global
software industry leader Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> rose 1.5
percent to $28.89, both in trading on Nasdaq.
                                
 Boeing shares rose 2.5 percent to $76.50 on the New York
Stock Exchange, and DuPont climbed 1.8 percent to $47.43. Among
retailers, Costco Wholesale rose 0.9 percent to $69.59, The S&P
retail index <.RLX> rose gained 5  percent.
                                
 Airlines soared. Delta climbed 10 percent to $6.00, United
Airlines owner UAL Corp <UAUA.O> jumped 8.0 percent to $7.08
and Continental Airlines <CAL.N> surged 8.7 percent to $14.60.
                                
 But Citigroup shares fell 4.2 percent to $19.54, making it
one of the top drags on the S&P 500. Also weighing on the index
were shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, down 3.9 percent at
$37.22, and Bank of America <BAC.N>, whose stock fell more than
3.8 percent to $27.30
                                
 Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden told
investors on a Deutsche Bank Securities investor conference
call that the largest U.S. bank could have substantial
write-downs in the second quarter, triggering a drop in
Citigroup shares of nearly 4 percent.