Stocks improved slightly but were still mixed in late trading, as techs continued to be a sore spot in the stock market today. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 were up 0.7% and 0.4% respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq shaved a 1.5% deficit to 0.7%. But software, networking and Internet stocks still weighed on the tech-heavy index. Volume was again tracking sharply higher across the board.