Dow gains 5,
ending 4-day slump

NEW YORK -- A late rebound lifted the stock market to marginal gains today as smaller-company measures flirted with new highs and blue-chip issues halted a four-session losing streak.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.11 points to close at 7,787.33 after recovering from an 85-point slide that briefly put the blue-chip barometer below 7,700.

Advancers beat decliners by an 11-to-8 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,644 up, 1,189 down and 551 unchanged. NYSE volume was 492.09 million shares vs. 449.08 million yesterday.

Broad-market measures also turned higher as bonds rebounded from an afternoon slide that temporarily sent interest rates toward their highest level since early July.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose 0.68 to 913.70, the NYSE index rose 0.69 to 476.05, and the Nasdaq index rose 4.24 to 1,595.54

The American Stock Exchange index, which has many small-company stocks, rose 3.82 to 651.12, about 3 points shy of a record.

Investors continued to funnel money away from the high-flying blue-chip sector in search of better values. The Russell 2000 index of small companies rose for the fourth straight session, closing at a record 420.84, up 2.53 points.

On the bond market, the price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 1/32 point while its yield fell to 6.63 percent late yesterday.

Before today, the Dow had fallen for four consecutive sessions, losing about 240 points, or 3 percent, over that span. The average of 30 big companies still stands nearly 500 points shy of its record high of 8,259.31 set Aug. 6.