NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks soared today as a surge in oil stocks and fresh evidence about the resilient U.S. economy carried the Dow above 9,800 and 9,900 for the first time. Dow rises 124.6;
nears 10,000The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124.60 points to a record close of 9,897.44, after pulling back from a high of 9,935.46, earlier in the session. The Dow is up 7.8 percent for the year.
Broader stock measures also were up, as the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 10.84 to also hit a record close of 1,297.68. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 6.25 at 2,412.25
Advancers beat decliners by a 7-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,739 up and 1,256 down and 543 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 908.58 million shares vs. 836.89 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 5.19 to 611.67; the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 6.51 to 721.65; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.04 to 401.08.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was off 3/32 point, or 94 cents per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 5.56 percent from 5.55 percent late yesterday.
Oil stocks were sharply higher, following reports that leading exporting nations are close to agreement on production cuts in a bid to shore up prices. Oil prices have been rising steadily for over a week, recovering from 12-year lows and pushing oil stocks higher.
Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.14 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.7 percent, and Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.5 percent.