Dow up 51 to 4th
straight record

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Stock prices closed mostly higher today in a turbulent session that saw the Dow Jones industrial average change direction several times but still manage to make its fourth-straight record high close.

The Dow rose 51.06 to close at 10,462.72, topping yesterday's record of 10,411.66.

High-profile technology stocks, which investors had sold aggressively since Tuesday afternoon, rallied gamely in the final 30 minutes of trading.

That pushed the Nasdaq composite index into positive territory for the first time today. The Nasdaq ended the day up 14.49 to close at 2,521.77. The Standard & Poor 500 composite index was down slightly but had pared its losses, ending the day off 5.59 at 1,322.85.

"It was a wild day, with the hot technology stocks opening down big and doing their best to try to come back toward the end of the day," said Scott Bleier, chief investment strategist at Prime Charter. But in the end, cyclical stocks, which move up and down along with the economy, "still stole the show," he said.

Advancers beat decliners by an 11-to-8 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,756 up, 1,267 down and 508 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 1.087 billion vs. 955.70 million yesterday.

The NYSE composite index fell 2.78 to 622.89, but the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.81 to 737.93. The Russell 2000 index rose 0.38 to 417.77.

The 30-year Treasury bond fell 7/32 point, or $2.19 per $1,000 security, to 96. Its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.52 percent.