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NEW YORK — Wall Street reversed direction Tuesday when investors resumed buying riskier tech stocks and cashed in recent gains from safe-haven blue chips. 

Investors seemed to tune out earnings and economic worries while they shopped for bargain-priced high-tech stocks. 

Tuesday’s trading reflected a recent trend in which investors alternate throughout the day between the relative safety of blue chips and riskier tech stocks. Analysts expect investors will continue to waffle between techs and blue chips, making no big commitments until the economy improves or the Federal Reserve lower rates for a third time this year. 

“This is a little pause in a window in which the market is probably going to be in limbo and not make much progress,” said Ricky Harrington, technical analyst for Wachovia Securities. 

The market on Tuesday anxiously awaited earnings from tech bellwether Cisco Systems, which finished regular trading at $35.94, up $1.38. After the close of trading, Cisco announced earnings that missed estimates by a penny. 

Techs managed to move higher in advance of Cisco’s results, analysts said, because the market in the last two sessions had factored in the possibility that the company would have disappointing news.