Dow up 402.63;
Nasdaq rises 9%

The blue chips post their second-
largest point gain while the tech-heavy
index records its third-best
percentage increase

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By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Stock prices shot higher today, propelling the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 400 points, after Dell Computer and Alcoa gave Wall Street its first really good earnings news in months.

The advance was a welcome relief for a market yearning for an end to Wall Street's protracted slump. But some analysts, noting that disappointing first-quarter earnings reports might still be in the offing, cautioned that the market is still vulnerable to declines.

The Dow rose 402.63, or 4.2 percent, to close at 9,918.05.

The index's run-up was its second-largest daily point gain, after the 499.19 it rose on March 16, 2000. But in spite of the big advance, the Dow has gained less than 40 points this week, having plunged more than 392 over Monday and Tuesday.

The Nasdaq composite index also soared, rising 146.20, or 8.9 percent, to 1,785.00. The Nasdaq posted its third-largest daily percentage gain.

The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 48.19, or 4.4 percent, to 1,151.44.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 11 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,324 up, 756 down and 207 unchanged. Volume was 1.5 billion shares vs. 1.1 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 19.84 to 592.55, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 25.60 to 864.71 and the Russell 2000 index was up 18.99 at 444.73. The Treasury's 10-year note fell 12 to 100532; its yield rose 6 basis points to 4.98 percent. The 30-year bond fell 34 to 972532; its yield rose 5 basis points to 5.53 percent.

After months of pounding from a seemingly endless spate of profit warnings and layoff announcements, stocks got a big lift from Dell. The tech bellwether, whose previous earnings warnings have sent stocks tumbling, said late yesterday it still expects to report about $8 billion in revenue and earnings of 17 cents a share. Dell, the nation's top producer of desktop and laptop computers, surged $3.19 to $25.38.

Aluminum producer Alcoa, a Dow stock, added to the market's upward momentum, announcing today it earned 46 cents a share in the first quarter, 2 cents more than analysts expected. Alcoa advanced $1.85 to $37.40. Other Old Economy stocks advanced, including Dow stock 3M, up $4.38 at $103.

"Hopefully this will be a catalyst," for stocks to move higher, said Barry Berman, head trader for Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee.

"I'm not sure how much good news you need," Berman said. "You just need to get through this first-quarter reporting period and see a stop in the daily battering of bad news."