Stocks rise despite
Cisco warning

Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Stocks advanced modestly today, overcoming a choppy session in an encouraging sign of stability following an earnings warning by Cisco Systems.

"It's good news the market was able to recover, but we still have a lot of earnings reports to get through," said Charles Reinhard, senior U.S. investment strategist at Lehman Brothers. "By the end of this week, half of the companies of the Dow will have reported earnings and investors will have a better idea of what is ahead."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 58.17 at 10,216.73 after spending much of the session down. The advance was powered by a late-session surge as investors appeared to gain confidence about the market's prospects.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 11.85 to 1,191.53, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 13.61 to 1,923.18.

Advancers beat decliners 17 to 12 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,860 up, 1,180 down and 231 unchanged. Volume was 1.28 billion shares. The NYSE composite index rose 6.46 to 608.78, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 10.11 to 899.80 and the Russell 2000 index rose 4.68 to 455.58. The Treasury's 10-year note rose 13/32 to 98 15/32; its yield fell 5 basis points to 5.20 percent. The 30-year bond gained 13/32 to 96; its yield fell 3 basis points to 5.65 percent.

Stocks fell after the opening but recovered as investors digested news from the Federal Reserve, which reported that industrial production at the nation's factories rose a solid 0.4 percent in March, exceeding many analysts' expectations. That marked the first rise since September. The Labor Department also reported that its Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watched inflation gauge, edged up 0.1 percent in March, the smallest rise in seven months.