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US STOCKS-Tech buoys Wall Street, but energy still weighs

* Chipmaker shares at highest since mid-2001

* HP rises after results, Deere falls

* U.S. markets closed Thursday for Thanksgiving holiday

* Dow flat, S&P up 0.16 pct, Nasdaq up 0.47 pct (Updates prices, changes comment, byline)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged up on Wednesday, boosted by tech shares, while the energy sector was once more the largest weight on the market as crude prices continued to flirt with multi-year lows.

Hewlett-Packard, Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) and chipmakers were among the largest advancers, with the PHLX semiconductor index at its highest since mid-2001. Apple gained 0.8 percent while the SOX was last up 1.8 percent.

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Trading was relatively light, with some market participants already out for the Thanksgiving holiday. The stock market will be closed on Thursday, while Friday will be a half-day session.

U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in October and a measure of business spending plans fell for a second straight month, but consumer confidence was near a 7-1/2-year high suggesting the economy remains resilient in the face of faltering global demand.

"On balance data was still supportive of reasonable strength in the economy," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

He said the optimism on holiday shopping was a reason behind gains in chipmakers. "PC sales have been a drag and there may be some hope we see a pick-up."

At 2:30 p.m. EST (Other OTC: ECPCY - news) (1930 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.15 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,808.79, the S&P 500 gained 3.24 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,070.27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 22.38 points, or 0.47 percent, to 4,780.63.

Hewlett-Packard Co rose 3.7 percent to $39.02 as one of the S&P 500's biggest gainers the day after reporting fourth-quarter results.

Deere & Co fell 0.8 percent to $87.06 after the farm equipment company forecast a drop in equipment sales in the current quarter, hurt by lower corn prices and falling farm incomes.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,765 to 1,245, for a 1.42-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,545 issues rose and 1,121 fell for a 1.38-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 was posting 51 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 94 new highs and 33 new lows.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)