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NEW YORK -- Stocks moved sharply higher today, as technology shares led a broad recovery following solid earnings reports from three bellwether tech companies. Dow up 168;
Nasdaq gains 247Associated Press
Microsoft, Nokia and Sun Microsystems all beat Wall Street expectations, reversing what had become a third-quarter trend among widely held tech companies,
The upturn lifted the Dow Jones industrial average above 10,000, one day after the blue-chip index fell below that milestone for the first time since March. The Dow closed up 167.96, or 1.7 percent, at 10,142.98. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index also enjoyed a sharp turnaround, climbing 247.04 to end at 3,418.72. The 7.8 percent climb represented the Nasdaq's third-biggest percentage gain ever. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 43.29, or 3.5 percent, at 1,385.42. The Russell 2000 index was up 15.09 at 481.30. Advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin with 1,949 up, 925 down and 435 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was 1.29 billion shares vs. 1.43 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 13.50 to 638.66 and the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 5.53 to 903.64.
"The market became oversold and undervalued, and it didn't matter whether you were looking at the overall market or just at technology stocks. When that happens, all you need is a catalyst to get it going again," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.
The Treasury's 10-year note's price was up 3/32 point, or 94 cents per $1,000 in face value; its yield fell to 5.65 percent from 5.66 percent yesterday. The 30-year bond was up 9/16 point and yielded 5.75 percent, down from 5.77 percent.