NEW YORK -- Technology stocks rallied back today from a five-session knockout, sparking the largest one-day point gain ever in the Nasdaq composite and pushing other market indexes sharply higher. Dow up 186;
Nasdaq gains 96The Dow Jones industrial average gained 186.15, or 2 percent, to close at 9,363.46, the day's high.
The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily stocked with technology shares, soared 96.05 points, or 4.16 percent, at 2,405.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 30.49, or 2.5 percent, to end at 1,254.04.
Advancers beat decliners by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,775 up, 1,179 down and 592 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 796.98 million shares vs. 722.88 million yesterday.
The NYSE composite index rose 11.13 to 589.74, and the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 10.59 to 699.41. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies climbed 8.20 to 406.16.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 30-
year bond rose 1/4, or $2.50 per $1,000 bond, to 98 18/32, trimming its yield 2 basis points to 5.34 percent.
Technology shares did get some assistance from other sectors of the market. Shares of banking and financial services companies rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, testifying before the the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, endorsed a bill that would make it easier for financial services companies to combine their businesses. Greenspan said the legislation would help the United States economy remain dominant.