NEW YORK -- Technology stocks led a broad rally today, wiping almost every remaining trace of Friday's selloff, as the Federal Reserve confirmed expectations by not raising interest rates to protect against inflation. Dow regains
another 114.74The Dow Jones industrial average, which on Monday recovered 108 of the 247 points lost on Friday, rose another 114.74 points to close at 7,918.10 today.
Advancers led decliners by more than a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,046 up, 817 down and 543 unchanged. NYSE volume was 545.58 million shares, up from 514.27 million yesterday.
Broader stock measures also posted sizable gains, led by the technology-rich Nasdaq composite index, which rose 2 percent today.
The Standard & Poor's 500 list rose 13.52 to 926.01, and the NYSE composite index gained 5.99 to 479.54. The Nasdaq composite rose 31.19 to 1,600.71, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 6.63 to 641.22.
Although the market's recent tumble came amid worries that inflationary pressures may be mounting again, few investors had expected the Fed to take any action today to slow the economy with higher interest rates.
The stock market also drew a psychological boost from the settlement of the UPS strike, which was beginning to provoke fears of a potential drag on the economy and company profits.
On the bond market, the price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 6/32 point late today while its yield fell to 6.51 percent from 6.52 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.