Dow rockets 208;
Nasdaq jumps 61

---

By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Wall Street got the dose of good news it's been longing for today: better-than-expected earnings -- and from two big companies, General Motors and Texas Instruments. Stocks surged -- the Dow industrials up more than 200 points and the Nasdaq composite index up better than 3 percent -- as investors' faith was renewed in an economic turnaround.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 207.65 at 10,301.32. It was the Dow's biggest one-day point gain since March 4, when the blue chips rose 217.96.

Today also saw the market's broader indicators rise sharply. The tech-focused Nasdaq climbed 63.01 to 1,816.79 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 25.82 to 1,128.37.

Advancers outnumbered decliners slightly more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,261 up, 943 down and 169 unchanged. Volume was 1.34 billion shares.

The NYSE composite index rose 10.88 to 594.73, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 8.91 to 913.91 and the Russell 2000 index rose 10.21 to 522.95.

The Treasury's 2-year note fell 332 to 100 1432; its yield rose 5 basis points to 3.38 percent. The 10-year note lost 1 2/32 to 97 1932; its yield gained 5 basis points to 5.19 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1832 to 96; its yield rose 4 basis points to 5.66 percent.

GM, the strongest Dow industrial today, rose $2.95 to $64.05 after reporting first-quarter profits of $1.39 a share, 25 cents higher than analysts had forecast. GM also raised its full-year earnings estimate, a sign that GM believes consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, will continue to strengthen.

Texas Instruments climbed $1.66 to $33.79, having reported earnings late yesterday of a penny a share, beating Wall Street's break-even estimates. The firm also said orders rose and that it has turned the corner in the semiconductor slump.

"We think we can say goodbye to the bottom," said Ron Slaymaker, the company's manager of investor relations.

Other gainers included Intel, up $1.34 at $29.45 on Texas Instruments' good news and ahead of its own earnings, which came out after the close and met expectations.

Also, Johnson & Johnson rose $1.10 to $63.26 on better-than-anticipated results.