NEW YORK -- Stocks posted strong gains today after recovering from a wobbly morning, as technology shares bounced backed from their lows and investors refocused on a morning report showing continued strength in the U.S. economy. The Nasdaq composite index wrapped up its biggest monthly gain in 24 years. Dow rises 77.5
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 77.50 to close the month at 9,358.83, up 1.93 percent for January. The blue-chip index rose 49 points in the first minutes of trading, then dropped to negative 57 points before recovering.
Advancers beat decliners by 1,682 to 1,326 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 524 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 911.33 million shares vs. 850.63 million yesterday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 14.27 to 1,279.64, up 4.1 percent for January. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 28.55 to 2,505.89, up 14 percent for the month. The NYSE composite index rose 5.04 to 600.44, up .78 for the year to date. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 0.93 to 714.86, up 3.75 for January. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.25 to 427.22, up 1.25 percent in January.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond rose 1/4 point, or $2.50 per $1,000 in face value, in late afternoon trading, while its yield fell to 5.09 percent from 5.10 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
In overseas trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.09 percent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.56 percent; Germany's DAX index rose 1.2 percent; Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent; and France's CAC-40 rose up 1.2 percent.