NEW YORK >> Investors seeking safer havens bought up blue chips today but sold off riskier, technology shares amid worries about how long and how much the slumping economy will suffer from the terrorist attacks. Dow surges 114
on late comebackAssociated Press
But Wall Street's gains didn't spell confidence in the stock market or the economy, analysts said. Rather, institutional investors, such as mutual fund managers, were simply rearranging portfolios to have a heavier focus on safer, so-called defensive sectors, before the quarter closes tomorrow.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 114.03 at 8,681.42, after trading in negative territory most of the session. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 3.33 to 1,460.71, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.57 to 1,018.61.
Advancers beat decliners 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,917 up, 1,201 down and 187 unchanged. Volume was 1.45 billion shares. The NYSE composite index rose 7.74 to 532.30, the American Stock Exchange index gained 8.79 to 794.99 and the Russell 2000 index rose 3.17 to 392.96. The Treasury's 2-year note rose 3/32 to 101 20/32; its yield fell 6 basis points to 2.74 percent. The 10-year note gained 18/32 to 103 12; its yield fell 7 basis points to 4.56 percent. The 30-year bond rose 27/32 to 99 1/32; its yield fell 6 basis points to 5.44 percent.
The Labor Department said jobless claims last week shot up to a nine-year high, in part reflecting the impact of the terrorist attacks. Also, the Commerce Department reported that orders to American factories for big-ticket manufactured goods edged down in August, the third straight monthly decline.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq has temporarily suspended trading requirements, which exempts companies from meeting minimum share prices, usually a dollar. The move is to help companies remain listed on the exchange and to ease the economic turmoil following the attacks. Also, OPEC today ratified an agreement that leaves oil supply limits unchanged.