NEW YORK - Stocks closed higher in erratic trading today as investors pondered the market's next move following the Federal Reserve's policy meeting yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 50.44 points at 10,887.39. Much of the gain came in the final hour of trading. Dow regains 50
Broader stock indicators also closed higher. Rising bond prices boosted a market that struggled all day to chart a course.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 10.91 to 1,344.23, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 19.04 to 2,577.40.
Advancers beat decliners by an 11-to-8 margin on the NYSE, with 1,729 up, 1,264 down and 540 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 772.76 million shares vs. 742.75 yesterday.
The NYSE composite index rose 5.35 to 639.54; the American Stock Exchange composite index advanced 5.64 to 788.36; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.69 to end at 446.14.
"The market hasn't broken out or broken down," said Dan Ascani, president and research director at Global Market Strategists Inc. in Gainesville, Ga. "Everyone has adopted a wait-and-see attitude."
Yesterday, the Dow fell 16.52, recovering from an earlier 112-
point slide that followed the Fed's decision to leave interest rates unchanged but with an added warning that rates are likely to rise if inflation reawakens in the coming months.
The 30-year bond, which pared gains yesterday after the Fed revealed its new stance, rebounded today to rise 1 2/32, or $10.63 per $1,000 security, to 92 6/32, its biggest rally since March 5. That pushed the yield down 8 basis points to 5.80 percent.