NEW YORK -- Stocks rose for the first time in a week on optimism that central bankers will cut interest rates to stimulate the world's economies. Dow up 167
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 167.61 points to 7,899.52 pushing into positive territory for the week and just shy of this year's starting point, 7,908.25.
The rally extended yesterday's sharp rebound, which wiped out all but 9 points of a 274-point plunge and prevented a slide below the lows set on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. The Dow still is 1,438.45 points below the July 17 record of 9,337.97.
Broader stock indicators lagged the blue-chip advance again, but still posted sizable gains as technology and financial shares rallied back from a weeklong pounding.
The Nasdaq composite index, led by Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., jumped 73.37, or 5.2 percent. The sixth-biggest gain in the index's history still left it down 8 percent for the week. Microsoft gained $5.69 to $96.88 and Intel moved up $5.38 to $83.81.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 24.88 to 984.32.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,912 up, 1,267 down and 378 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 876.08 million shares, down from 1.110 billion yesterday.
The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 9.50 to 486.70, the American Stock Exchange composite index jumped 10.98 to 574.73, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies catapulted 8.12 to 318.40.
The Treasury's benchmark 30-year bond fell almost 2 full points, pushing up its yield more than 11 basis points to 5.11 percent.