NEW YORK -- The plunging technology sector pulled the rest of Wall Street lower Friday, giving the stock market a dismal end to a difficult week and the Nasdaq composite index its biggest weekly decline in 1 1/2 years. Blue chip stocks surrendered moderate gains as fears of higher interest rates again prompted investors to overlook strong earnings -- this time from ChevronTexaco Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co.

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Selling in tech stocks started early in the day and intensified as the session wore on. Jim Russell, director of core equity strategy for Fifth-Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, attributed the slide to investors who appeared to be "cashing in a few chips where they've made the most money."

Bob Dickey, managing director of technical analysis at RBC Dain Rauscher in Minneapolis, said the market, following a now familiar trading pattern, was moving in fits and starts, "but the bottom line is we're still in a trading range we've been in for four months and could be in for another four months."

He added that it was almost as if "the doldrums of summer have set in early."

The Nasdaq suffered its fifth consecutive loss, tumbling 38.63, or 2 percent, to 1,920.15. The drop gave the Nasdaq a 6.4 percent decline for the week, its worst performance since a nearly 6.4 percent slide in the week ended Oct. 18, 2002, near the lowest point in the bear market.

The Dow Jones industrials closed down 46.70, or 0.5 percent, at 10,225.57, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 6.59, or 0.6 percent, at 1,107.30.

For the week, the Dow lost 2.4 percent and the S&P slipped 2.9 percent. Blue chip stocks have escaped some selling because they are seen as relatively stalwart compared to the growth issues in the Nasdaq.

Upbeat economic news was again little comfort to investors worried that the data will give the Federal Reserve more of an impetus to raise interest rates.

The Commerce Department reported that consumers boosted their spending by 0.4 percent last month. That followed a 0.4 percent increase in February, according to revised figures. The figures are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States.

The market has been dropping on upbeat economic reports for several weeks. On Thursday, it fell after the government reported that the economy as measured by the gross domestic product grew at a 4.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a slight improvement from a year earlier.

Russell, the Fifth-Third Asset Management analyst, said fear of higher rates and slowing earnings momentum -- as well as concerns about the impact of expensing stock options -- appeared to be prompting some investors to take profits from such companies as Yahoo! and Amazon.

Yahoo Inc. slid $4.18, or 7.6 percent, to $50.53 and Amazon.com Inc. lost $2.59, or 5.6 percent, to $43.60. Other tech stocks also fell, including Cisco Systems, down $1.00, or 4.6 percent, at $20.91.

A disappointing earnings report prompted investors to send Gateway Inc. shares down 85 cents, or 16 percent, at $4.46.

Kevin Caron, market strategist at Ryan, Beck & Co., joined other analysts in saying investors were overreacting to the possibility of rate hikes.

"The rash of data over the last month suggests the Fed will move sooner rather than later, so the market gets nervous," Caron said. "But ultimately it is the earnings that drive stock prices, not what the Fed does. And the longer-term prospects are for strong economic growth, higher earnings and better stock prices."

P&G shares closed down 22 cents at $105.75, despite earnings that came in a penny ahead of expectations.

Investors rewarded ChevronTexaco for better-than-expected results. Its shares closed up $1.15, or 1.3 percent, at $91.50.

Declining shares led advancers more than 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was 2.04 billion shares, down from 2.34 billion on Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was down 7.45, or 1.3 percent, at 559.80.