Wall Street: Mon mid-session

STOCKS hovered around the unchanged mark in choppy trading. There was a sprinkling of optimism about corporate profits ahead of the earnings season.

Investors were catching their breath after major stock market gauges rocketed higher on Friday, racking up a third straight day of gains after a report showing US employers added jobs for the first time in eight months.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 9.11 points, or 0.1%, to 9,581.42, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.96 point, or 0.09%, to 1,030.81. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.4 points, or 0.13%, at 1,882.97.

Motorola, one of the world's top 10 makers of computer chips, rose more than 7% after it said it would spin off its semiconductor unit into a separate, publicly traded company.

Motorola was the New York Stock Exchange's most actively traded stock as it surged 96 cents to $13.24.

Trading volumes were moderate so far, with some traders out in observance of the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday.

PeopleSoft also climbed after it said its third-quarter earnings and revenues will top its earlier forecasts due to strong demand for software. The business software maker is trying to fend off a hostile acquisition bid. Its shares rose 65 cents, or 3%, to $20.46.

Another big gainer was Rambus, which shot 21% higher. The US Supreme Court rejected Infineon Technologies AG's appeal of a ruling that threw out its fraud charges against Rambus. The court's action reinstated Rambus' claim that Infineon infringed its computer chip patents. Rambus' shares rose $4.06 to $22.79.

Regional drugstore chain Duane Reade, however, slumped 18% after it cut its third-quarter and full-year profit forecast, citing slower-than-expected growth in prescription drug sales and the August power blackout. Its shares dropped $3.11 to $14.