NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks bounced back today, reversing course in the midst of a third day of heavy selling fueled by disappointment over the Federal Reserve's cautious response to the global economic crisis. Dow up 152
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 152.16 to 7,784.69 after swinging from a 102-point loss to a 185-point gain. Broader stock indexes also rebounded.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 16.21 to 1,002.60 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, down most of the day, eked out a 2.65 gain to finish at 1,614.98.
For the week, the Dow lost 2.7 percent, the S&P 500 slid 3.8 percent and the Nasdaq fell 7.5 percent.
The New York Stock Exchange composite index was up 7.94 to 498.16 and the American Stock Exchange composite index edged up .97 to 609.47. But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped .33 to 349.71.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 17-to-13 ratio, with 783 stocks touching 52-week lows and 116 hitting highs. Almost 904 million shares changed hands on the Big Board, above the three-month average of 721 million. Today was the seventh-busiest day ever on the NYSE.
Bonds posted their biggest weekly gains since May 1997 -- sending 30-year yields down 25 basis points -- as investors flocked to Treasuries as a refuge from slumping stocks amid concern sagging economies in Asia and other emerging markets and financial market turmoil will trigger a worldwide slowdown.
The long bond jumped 20/32 today to 110 10/32 for a yield of 4.84 percent.
