Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Dow up 56.57
Associated PressNEW YORK - Stock prices surged today, as investors poured money into technology stocks after Internet giant Yahoo! reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The re-emergence of tech stocks helped push the tech-focused Nasdaq stock market back into positive territory for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 56.57 at 10,783.76, after being up nearly 100 points earlier in the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.04 to close today at 1,492.92.
The Nasdaq composite index closed up 143.17, or 3.6 percent, at 4,099.59, giving the tech-heavy index a 0.7 percent gain for the year to date. The last time the Nasdaq was in positive territory this year was early April.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by nearly a 3-to-2 margin, with 1,739 up, 1,151 down and 481 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 999.23 million shares, up from 981.37 million shares yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 1.23 to 661.13; the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 1.77 to 954.97; and the Russell 2000 index was up 10.51 at 540.25.
The 10-year Treasury note fell 1/4 point, or $2.50 per $1,000 face amount, as its yield climbed 3 basis points to 6.08 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/32, while its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.89 percent.
With the second-quarter earnings season just getting under way, a strong showing from Yahoo! late yesterday helped boost the technology sector, which had been battered in recent weeks on fears that second-quarter earnings may be disappointing. Yahoo!'s shares rose $19.37-1/2 to $124.87-1/2. CMGI and eBay also climbed.