Stocks come
back to life

Bargain hunters send the
Dow up 90.11 today

NEW YORK -- Stocks rebounded in the United States and in leading European exchanges today after a mixed showing in Asia as edgy traders looked for bargains following a global sell-off yesterday.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which began bouncing back from steep losses late yesterday, kept regaining lost ground and was up as much as 101 points today. It closed with a gain of 90.11, or 1.1 percent, at 8,552.96 in trading that was not quite as heavy as yesterday's hectic pace.

At one point yesterday, the Dow was down 257.98 points, or 3 percent, bringing losses to more than 1,000 points from the July 17 record of 9,337.97. But late buying reduced yesterday's loss to 112 points. Broader indicators also rose today.

The market has been shaken by Japan's deepening recession and fears it not only will setback a recovery in Asia's yearlong economic crisis but worsen the fallout elsewhere. But the tailspin in stocks paused today as lower prices attracted some bargain-hunting.

On the London Stock Exchange, Europe's biggest market, the blue-chip Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index closed with a gain of just over one-half percentage point today. Frankfurt, Germany's DAX index rose 1.9 percent and the Paris CAC 40 index rose 2.6 percent. All three had been down yesterday.

In Russia, stocks were unable to hold early gains and the major index finished down 1.6 percent today.

Because of worries that Russia's economic problems will be aggravated by Asia's turmoil, shares plummeted 9 percent in a stormy session yesterday in which trading was temporarily halted because of the steep losses.

At the Tokyo Stock Exchange, on its longest roll of losing days in two years, yesterday's tailspin in New York was only the latest in a steady stream of dark market news.

But with prices already low and many dealers away for summer holidays, the reaction was muted. The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average fell 28.02 points, or 0.18 percent, closing at 15,378.97 in its eighth straight day of losses.

Meanwhile, the yen strengthened today after weakening to an 8-year high vs. the dollar yesterday. In late trading in New York, the yen was at 146.44 to the dollar, down from 147.35 late yesterday. Traders said the yen firmed up after the Japanese government suggested it would intervene in currency markets to prop up the nation's currency.

On Wall Street today, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 15.24 to 1,084.22, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 32.83 to 1,825.53.

Advancers beat decliners by a 5-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,204 up, 867 down and 473 unchanged. NYSE volume was 707.67 million shares, easing from the hectic pace of the past week.

The NYSE composite rose 7.51 to 545.46, and the American Stock Exchange composite rose 9.53 to 668.80. The Russell 2000 index rose 7.95 to 408.55.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond fell 5/32 point, or $1.56 per $1,000 in face value, while its yield rose to 5.61 percent from 5.60 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.