Stock market soars,
breaking records

Investors prove their reluctance to
leave a market that served
them so well in 1999

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrials soared into record territory today after investors brushed off signs of inflationary pressure and a profit warning from Lucent Technologies and sent stocks sharply higher.

The Nasdaq composite, which tumbled earlier this week, recorded its best point gain in history.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 269.30, or 2.39 percent, to close at 11,522.56, topping its Dec. 31 closing record of 11,497.12. The rally, which was fueled by consumer goods stocks, wiped out the last remnants of Tuesday's 359-point tumble.

The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index soared 155.49, or 4.17 percent, to 3,882.62 after plunging 400 points, or nearly 10 percent, over the previous three sessions. Other broad-market indicators also posted sizable gains.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 38.02 to 1,441.47.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 13-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,259 up, 853 down and 411 unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, five stocks rose for every three that fell.

NYSE volume totaled 1.22 billion shares vs. 1.08 billion yesterday.

The NYSE composite index rose 14.87 to 642.41; the American Stock Exchange composite rose 6 to 863.76; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 12.97 to 488.31.

The sharpness of the rally perplexed some analysts, who believed the selloff that began on Tuesday would continue.

Nonetheless, investors today proved their reluctance to stay out of a market that richly rewarded them in 1999. The Nasdaq ended a three-day bout of profit-taking despite news of weakness from Lucent Technologies, a leading telecommunications equipment maker. Lucent said late yesterday it won't meet most profit forecasts for the final quarter of 1999. On record-breaking volume, Lucent plunged well below its close yesterday on the NYSE.

But in a sign of extraordinary resilience, investors used Lucent's troubles as a reason to throw money at its main rivals in supplying fiber-optic equipment for the communications networks that make up the Internet.

Alex M. Cena, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney, lowered his earnings estimates for Lucent, but said its woes were due to specific problems at the company.