Dow ends off 6
after plunge

NEW YORK -- Stocks staged a stunning rebound today, erasing almost all of a 177-point plunge by the Dow Jones industrial average, after tumbling amid another increase in interest rates and a downgrade of Intel Corp. that spooked the technology sector.

The Dow, down nearly 125 points with just half an hour left to the session, ricocheted back to close at 7,887.91, down only 6.04. The Dow finished the week up 193.25.

The Dow swung at least 100 points in each of the last five sessions, losing 247 points last Friday, gaining 323 over the next three sessions, and then sliding 127 points yesterday.

Decliners still outnumbered advancers by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 992 up, 1,906 down and 479 un

changed. Before the late rebound, however, that ratio stood closer to 4-to-1 in favor of decliners. NYSE volume totaled 457.59 million shares vs. 497.57 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list, down nearly 20 points at its low, fell just 1.51 to 923.54. The Nasdaq composite index fell 8.67 to 1,598.69, the NYSE composite index fell 0.83 to 478.93, and the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 2.73 to 643.83.

Stocks were pressured from the outset by another weak day on the bond market, which was weighed down by a sharp drop in the dollar's value on foreign exchange markets.

As bond prices fell, the yield on the 30-year Treasury -- a key determinant of borrowing costs -- rose as high as 6.68 percent, up from 6.62 percent late yesterday and 6.54 percent late Wednesday.

Even Intel regained most of an early 7-point slide. But Texas Instruments, another leading semiconductor maker that was also downgraded by Merrill Lynch, finished with a big loss.