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Dow up 201.66;
Nasdaq gains 53

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average surged today as investors snapped up shares of the companies that were battered in last week's sell-off. The Dow's strength lifted other market measures out of a slump caused by lingering worries that interest rates are headed higher. The Dow rose 201.66 to 10,940.53, its steepest point gain since Jan. 7.

Broader market indicators also finished higher in a volatile session. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 34.30 to 1,394.46 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 53.28 to 3,940.35 Decliners outnumbered advancers by an 8-to-7 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,621 down, 1,448 up and 444 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 971.85 million shares compared with 1.08 billion on Friday.

The NYSE composite index rose 9.92 to 621.73, the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 7.99 to 860.25 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.39 to 496.23. The Dow finished the month down 4.84 percent while the Nasdaq was off 3.17 percent for January and the S&P 500 was down 5.09 percent.

The benchmark 30-year bond fell 3/8, or $3.75 per $1,000 face amount, to a price of 95 11/32, after last week's gains sent yields below those on two-year notes for the first time since 1990. The bond's yield rose to 6.49 percent.

Stocks rose today on a surprising wave of strength from bank and brokerage stocks. American Express Co., up $6.50 to $164.75, and J.P. Morgan & Co., ahead $4.87 to $122.94, led the Dow's advance.