NEW YORK -- Technology stocks led a sharp advance today, with the Dow jumping back above 8,000 just days after threatening to sink below its summer low of 7,400. Dow up 102
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.95 points to 8,001.47 after peaking at midday with a gain of 185 points.
The blue-chip barometer has now bounced more than 500 points from the bottom of a 274-point slide on Thursday, hopping back above this year's break-even point, 7,908.25.
Broader indicators also extended a rebound that began Thursday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.32 to 997.71 after gaining 25 points on Friday.
The technology-laced Nasdaq composite index rose 53.59, or 3.6 percent, to 1,546.08. Last week, the index tumbled about 200 points, or 12 percent, before gaining 73 points on Friday. The Nasdaq registered its best two days since Oct. 30, 1987, when the index wrapped up a 10.8 percent gain.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,139 up, 992 down and 375 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 688.26 million shares vs. 876.09 million on Friday.
The NYSE composite index rose 6.25 to 492.95, and the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 6.28 to 581.01.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.22 to 325.62.
Bond trading was halted today in observance of the Columbus Day holiday, giving investors a respite from last week's sell-off, which was the worst week in more than two years. The 30-year Treasury bond fell 41/2 points last week, or $40.50 per $1,000 bond, driving its yield to 5.11 percent.