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Dow gains 10
Associated PressNEW YORK -- Technology stocks bounded higher today as investors decided that those companies are growing quickly enough to dodge the threat of rising interest rates.
Blue-chip shares were little changed with the Dow Jones industrial average up 10.24 to 11,013.44. The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 137.02 to 4,210.98, its third biggest point gain in history. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 15.85 to 1,424.97. Advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,070 up, 1,037 down and 414 unchanged. NYSE volume was 1.11 billion shares vs. 1.03 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite rose 3.70 to 629.63; the Russell 2000 rose 11.74 to 521.63; and the American Stock Exchange composite rose 10.64 to 888.33.
Stocks benefited from a continued rally in the bond market. Long-term Treasury prices, which have been edging higher for more than a week, soared yesterday after the government said it would sell fewer bonds as part of the Clinton administration's long-term plan to pay off the national debt. Today, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond stood at 6.14 percent, down from 6.28 percent late yesterday. As recently as Jan. 18, the yield was at a 2-year high of 6.75 percent.
After the close today, Mattel Inc.'s CEO Jill Barad resigned after coming under fire for months for failing to lift declining sales and profits at the world's biggest toymaker. Her departure came as the El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel posted a big loss for the fourth quarter, disappointing analysts for the third straight quarter.