NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks pushed toward record levels today after seesawing through the day, rallying into the close as interest rates sank in the bond market. Dow gains 70
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70.25 points to close at 9,161.77, about 30 points below May 4's record finish at 9,192.66. Until the final hour, the Dow had never strayed much more than 30 points in either direction.
Decliners led advancers by a 9-to-8 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,399 up, 1,582 down and 564 unchanged. NYSE volume was 600.90 million shares vs. 556.97 million yesterday.
Several broad-market indexes also turned higher after meandering in a narrow range all day. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 9.15 to 1,115.79, and the NYSE composite index rose 3.01 to 578.28. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.09 to 1,860.16, led by technology bellwethers Dell Computer, Intel and Microsoft.
But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.77 to 476.13, and the small-company dominated American Stock Exchange composite index fell 0.45 to 743.58.
The late advance came as the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond -- a key determinant of borrowing costs -- fell back below 6 percent just one day after bobbing above that psychologically important level. The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 27/32 point, or $8.44 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield fell to 5.97 percent from 6.03 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Analysts said few investors were making big bets in advance of tomorrow's key readings on wholesale prices and retail sales.