Dow tops 10,000;
Nasdaq soars 6.1%

Associated Press

NEW YORK >> A rebound in technology stocks set off a strong rally on Wall Street today, lifting the Dow Jones industrials more than 250 points to their first close above 10,000 in nearly a month.

But analysts remained cautious, noting that the market remains highly vulnerable to more declines as first-quarter earnings reports begin.

"The bear market is still in force. This rally is a good and an important sign that maybe we're starting to bottom, but there's no evidence we've bottomed yet," said Bob Streed, portfolio manager of Northern Select Equity Fund.

The blue chips rose 257.59, or 2.6 percent, to 10,102.74, their first close above 10,000 since March 15. At one point during the session, the Dow was up more than 310 points.

The Nasdaq composite index also had a big day, rising 106.32, or 6.1 percent, to 1,852.03. And the market's broadest measure, the Standard & Poor's 500, gained 30.79, or 2.7 percent, to 1,168.38.

The NYSE composite index rose 12.14 to 599.83, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 14.57 to 885.59 and the Russell 2000 index was up 10.17 at 451.84.

Advancers led decliners by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,094 up, 998 down and 212 unchanged. Volume came to 1.6 billion shares vs. 1.2 billion yesterday.

The Treasury's 10-year note fell 1-5/32 to 99-11/32; its yield rose 15 basis points to 5.08 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1-20/32 to 96-11/32; its yield rose 11 basis points to 5.63 percent.

Enthusiasm for technology stocks led the rally. Microsoft rose $2.53 to $59.68, while Intel, which was downgraded by two investment firms yesterday, jumped $1.55 to $24.75, more than recovering from the previous session's 43-cent loss.

Nontechnology issues were also strong. J.P. Morgan rose $2.88 to $43.30, a 7.3 percent gain and 3M gained $3.99 to $108.57.

There were some exceptions. Aetna plunged $6.35 to $29.80, nearly an 18 percent loss, after the health insurance provider warned its results would fall below expectations because of increasing costs.

And consumer product companies lagged as investors shifted their focus to technology. Procter & Gamble fell $1.64 to $58.70.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average slid 1.7 percent.