NEW YORK >> Wall Street went on a technology buying spree today -- despite the absence of any obvious catalyst -- sending the Nasdaq composite index soaring more than 100 points and the Dow Jones industrials to their highest close in 16 months. Investors
By Lisa Singhania
gobble up
tech stocks
Associated PressThe rally was notable because it came on a day when there was no major earnings or economic data. Instead, investors appeared to be buying solely on the expectation that better times are ahead and they would regret not buying now.
"There's an old saying on the Street: When you can move a market without news, that's the best news around," said Larry Wachtel, market analyst with Prudential Securities. "This market has been improving for two solid months and what's happening is that all the money on the sidelines that's built up is barreling in. People are saying, 'I have to get in there.' "
The Nasdaq rose 106.71 to 2,305.59, the first time since August 2000 that the tech-dominated index has risen five straight sessions.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 36.18 at 11,337.92, adding to its three-day 428.77-point gain. The last time it closed that high was Jan. 20, 2000, when it was 11,351.30.
Advancers beat decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,091 up, 1,025 down and 203 unchanged. Volume was 1.46 billion shares vs. 1.11 billion Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 20.87 at 1,312.83, the NYSE composite index rose 6.41 to 663.56, the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.63 to 955.12 and the Russell 2000 index was up 9.63 at 515.91. The Treasury's 10-year note rose 1/8 to 97 3/32; its yield fell 2 basis points to 5.39 percent. The 30-year bond rose 1/4 to 94 23/32; its yield fell 2 basis points to 5.75 percent.
The blue-chip index, which slipped briefly into bear market territory in March, has recovered to the point where it now just 3.3 percent off its highest close ever of 11,722.98, reached Jan. 14, 2000. It also has a 5.1 percent gain so far this year.
"The Nasdaq, by moving up, is confirming the strength we saw last week in the Dow," said Todd Clark, co-head of trading at W.R. Hambrecht. "We're actually a little overbought right now, but that's OK."
Sun Microsystems rose $2.40 to $22.37 on news of a new, five-year, $200 million agreement with Eastman Kodak. Cisco Systems was up $2.67 at $22.87 on the release of a new product that allows traditional telephones to be used over the Internet.
The Nasdaq and S&P have not recovered as much as the Dow. The Nasdaq is off nearly 7 percent from where it started 2001 and down 54 percent from highest close ever of 5,048.62 reached March 10, 2000. The Standard & Poor's index is half of a percent away from where it started the year, but still 14 percent below its peak close of 1,527.46 on March 24, 2000.