NEW YORK -- Stocks rose sharply today, extending Friday's gains, with the Dow Jones industrial average moving back into positive territory for the year. Dow jumps 150,
moves up for yearThe Dow, up 179.96 on Friday, rose as much as 243.56 points and returned above 8,000 before giving up some ground. It closed with a gain of 149.85 at 7,945.35, which puts it .47 percent higher than its starting point for the year, 7,908.25.
Broader indicators surged higher in trading that was active but slower than Friday's heavy volume.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 20.66 to 1,029.72, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 24.05 to 1,665.69.
Advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,125 up, 1,010 down and 419 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 709.73 million shares as of 4 p.m., vs. 817.73 million in the previous session.
The NYSE composite index gained 10.18 to 510.21; the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 6.09 to 619.30; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies jumped 4.10 to 357.72.
U.S. bonds were little changed after a statement from finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations led to speculation a coordinated series of interest-rate cuts may be imminent.
The 30-year Treasury bond fell 1/16, or 63 cents per $1,000 bond, leaving its yield unchanged at 5.23 percent.
The stock market gains came on bargain-hunting among battered financial shares and on new attempts to rally major nations to keep the economic crises in Asia and Russia from causing greater problems.
President Clinton, in a midday address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, urged rich nations to adopt a coordinated strategy to boost world growth.
The debate over Clinton's future had little impact on stocks today. Traders said they were relieved Friday when a prosecutor's report was made public and included no surprise allegations, even though it reported 11 acts that may constitute grounds for impeachment.
In volatile swings last week, which included a return above 8,000 on Tuesday, the Dow gained 155 points to halt a two-week plunge of 893 points, or 10.5 percent.
But analysts said it was far from clear that the market's retreat from record heights had bottomed out. Even with the latest gains, the Dow remains 14.9 percent below the record 9,337.97 of July 17.
Bargain hunters emerged today, with buying interest keen among bank shares and other financial issues that have suffered amid the spreading global economic turmoil.
European markets also rallied today as officials from the world's top industrialized nations, meeting in London to discuss Russia's financial crisis, said they would insist on continuing economic reforms as a condition for aid.
Frankfurt's DAX index rose 3.4 percent, London's FT-SE 100 rose 2.9 percent, and the CAC-40 in Paris rose 3.8 percent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei stock average rose 310.29 points, or 2.2 percent, to close at 14,227.37 amid signs of compromise in the political stalemate over proposals to repair Japan's debt-crippled banking sector.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. and Sony Corp. led gains after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party offered to impose stricter regulations on how the government will use some 13 trillion yen to buy debt and equity of ailing banks. Any moves in Tokyo to speed up a recovery will bolster stock markets throughout Asia, where many companies depend on exports to Japan. "The opposition will probably buy it, so if you look at it as moving debate through parliament, then it's positive," said Mamoru Shimoda, a strategist at Deutsche Securities Co.
In Hong Kong, renewed hopes that China may cut interest rates for the fourth time since October propelled the benchmark 33-stock Hang Seng index to its first gain in four days, rising 83.38, or 1.1 percent, to 7,661.861, as 24 stocks rose and seven fell.
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News
contributed to this report.