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NEW YORK >> Wall Street shot higher as U.S.-led forces closed in on Baghdad today, boosting investor optimism that the two-week-old war with Iraq might soon end. The Dow Jones industrials soared 215 points to their best performance in nearly two weeks. Stocks surge on hopes
for quick end to warBy Hope Yen
Associated PressTech shares surged, led in part by a positive outlook from Biogen, while airline stocks gained on approval from House and Senate appropriations committees of about $3 billion in federal aid.
"The march to Baghdad is really driving the markets higher," said Chris Wolfe, equity market strategist for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "This (market) move emphasizes that we have a lot of cash on the sidelines ready to be put to work."
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 10 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.
The Dow closed up 215.20, or 2.7 percent, at 8,285.06, having gained 77 points yesterday to snap a four-day losing streak. It was the largest advance since March 21, when blue-chip stocks closed 235 points higher.
The broader market, meanwhile, posted their sharpest gains since March 17. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 48.40, or 3.6 percent, to 1,396.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 22.42, or 2.6 percent, to 880.90. The Russell 2000 index rose 7.61, or 2.1 percent, to 376.30.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was down 29/32 point, while its yield rose to 3.92 percent from 3.82 percent late yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were down 5/32 point and yielded 1.51 percent, up from 1.49 percent yesterday.
U.S. ground forces today charged into the "Red Zone," the Iraqi resistance surrounding Baghdad. A U.S. general said one of the key divisions defending the city of Kut had been destroyed.
Investors, meanwhile, shrugged off a Commerce Department report today showing U.S. factory orders declining by 1.5 percent in February, the largest drop in five months. The reading came after orders went up 1.7 percent in January; it also was worse than analysts' estimates.
Biogen climbed $3.70 to $33.99 after the biotech company raised its first-quarter earnings outlook, citing strong interest in its psoriasis drug. Other tech shares also gained, including Dow components Intel, which rose $1.10 to $17.52, and Microsoft, which increased $1.37 to $25.72.
Airline shares also advanced on the proposed federal bailout package, although a congressional leader said the Bush administration may oppose it. American Airlines surged $1.25, or 41.7 percent, to $4.25, while Continental increased 37 cents to $5.95 and Delta climbed 89 cents to $9.69.
But Northwest Airlines closed unchanged at $6.70 after Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded the company's stock to "neutral" from "outperform," citing concerns about dampened international travel due to the mysterious respiratory disease spreading in Asia.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1 percent higher. In Europe, France's CAC-40 rose 4.1 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 1.9 percent and Germany's DAX index climbed 5.7 percent.
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