Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Dow up 9.6;
Nasdaq hits record

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Soaring telecommunications and technology stocks pushed the Nasdaq composite index further into record territory today and helped the Dow Jones industrials eke out a modest gain. The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 87.35, or 1.86 percent, to close at 4,784.41, topping yesterday's closing record of 4,696.69.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.62 to 10,137.93. This week, the blue-chip index has risen in three consecutive sessions - the first time it has done so since Jan. 12-14. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 12.77 to 1,379.19. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 10.31 to 588.02, its second consecutive record close.

Advancers beat decliners by a 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,557 up, 1,484 down and 456 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 1.27 billion shares vs. 1.18 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite rose 6.84 to 599.48. The American Stock Exchange composite rose 28.72, or 2.95 percent, to end at 1,001.95, the first time the index of small company shares has topped 1,000.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was down point, or $2.50 per $1,000 in face value; its yield rose to 6.16 percent from 6.13 percent yesterday.

After the market's close, Aetna Inc., the troubled health insurer, said it received a $10 billion takeover offer from competitor WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and the Dutch investment bank ING Group.