U.S. stocks mostly slipped on Friday after a weak consumer sentiment report offset positive news from bellwethers Dell Inc and Intel Corp

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* Support from the two companies allowed the tech-heavy Nasdaq to eke out a modest gain, however.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 36.43 points, or 0.38 percent, to end unofficially at 9,544.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dipped 2.05 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,028.93. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 1.04 points, or 0.05 percent, to close unofficially at 2,028.77.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)