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NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks closed higher today amid optimism that interest rates will hold steady, but tech issues fell on profit taking after yesterday's big advance. At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 109.88 at 10,976.89, adding to yesterday's 99-point gain. Dow up 109.88
Associated Press
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.49 at 1,482.81 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 14.44 at 3,848.55 after rising 75 points yesterday.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 5-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,588 up, 1,256 down and 496 unchanged. Volume came to 992.09 million shares, up from yesterday's 854.31 million. The NYSE composite index rose 2.18 to 665.70, the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 1.16 to 914.30 and the Russell 2000 index was down 1.15 at 508.72.
The 30-year Treasury bond rose 11/32 to 107 13/32 as its yield fell 4 basis points to 5.73 percent. The 10-year note rose 1/4, or $2.50 per $1,000 face amount, to 104 5/32. Its yield fell 3 basis points to 5.92 percent, near a four-month low. The five-year note rose 5/32 to 102 31/32 while its yield dropped 4 basis points to 6.02 percent.
A report from the Labor Department today eased investor worries over interest rates. Americans' productivity, a key measure of rising living standards, surged 5.3 percent in the second quarter, putting productivity gains during the past year at the fastest pace in 17 years.
The Federal Reserve has counted on gains in worker productivity to offset labor shortages that have boosted wages -- a possible inflationary signal.