Dow soars 214.72
to record

NEW YORK -- The Dow plowed back into record territory today, completing a nearly 2,000-point rebound from its summer slide, as a spurt of merger activity fueled another rally in the stock market.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 214.72 points, or 2.34 percent, to a record close of 9,374.27, vaulting past the 9,337.97 record close on July 17.

Advancers led decliners by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,862 up, 1,244 down and 474 unchanged. Nasdaq gainers led by just an 8-to-7 ratio. NYSE volume totaled 764.38 million shares, up from 717.77 at the same time Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 also rose to a record close, up 24.66 to 1,188.21, topping the July 17 record of 1,186.75.

The Nasdaq composite index, dominated by big technology names stocks and smaller companies, rose 49.21 to 1,977.42, but remains about 37 points from its July 20 peak at 2,014.25.

The NYSE composite index gained 10.17 to 582.25, but the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.01 to 672.00. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.86 to 398.15.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was off 11/16 point, or $6.871/2 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 5.26 percent from 5.22 percent late Friday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Overseas, Germany's DAX index rose 2.2 percent, Britain's FT-SE 100 rose 2.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.1 percent. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.