Stocks rose on Tuesday led by big-cap technology shares, but continued uncertainty over how European leaders would alleviate Greece's simmering debt crisis capped gains.

Big-cap technology stocks Intel, Oracle and Apple led the market higher. Apple Inc gained 0.6 percent to $382.11, while Intel Corp added 0.8 percent to $20.43, and Oracle Corp jumped 2 percent to $27.33.

Dividend-paying large-cap tech stocks are considered relatively safe from market uncertainty and risk.

Consumer staple shares were the biggest decliners, weighed by weak quarterly results from Best Buy, the consumer electronics chain. The S&P consumer staples index <.GSPS> fell 0.4 percent.

The market can move up and down throughout the day but (the gains or losses) are not solid because of the amount of uncertainty in the market, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 8.32 points, or 0.08 percent, at 11,069.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 4.89 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,167.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 17.49 points, or 0.70 percent, at 2,512.58.

The next level where we could see some solid move will be around 1,200 on the S&P, which we are quite far away from, said Pavlik.

Best Buy Co Inc said quarterly sales were flat, missing estimates on weak demand for televisions, but the big consumer electronics chain stood by its fiscal-year revenue outlook. Its shares slid 7.7 percent to $23.08.

In the latest economic data, U.S. import prices fell in August due to lower fuel, food and industrial material costs, the Labor Department said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy were determined to do what is necessary and were going to take action today, a French government source said, but Sarkozy's office denied a joint statement was planned.

Merkel sought to quash talk of an imminent Greek default, saying Europe was doing everything in its power to avoid a default.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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