Cautious investors send
stocks higher

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By Lisa Singhania
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Wall Street held on to its gains today, rising modestly even as investors pondered what direction to take after the surge in stock prices this week. The Dow Jones industrials had their first close above their levels of Sept. 11.

"It's encouraging to see stocks acting this way. It's very quiet here, but this isn't anything to worry about," said Christopher Wolfe, equity market strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

The Dow closed up 20.48 at 9,608.00 -- just above its close of 9,605.51 on Sept. 10, the day before the terror attacks. The index has now recouped all of the 1,369 points it lost in the ensuing selloff. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.77 to 1,120.31, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.71 to 1,828.48. Both indexes beat pre-attack levels last month.

Advancers edged decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,587 up, 1,485 down and 265 unchanged. Volume was 1.08 billion shares. The NYSE composite index rose 0.54 to 1,570.61, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 8.43 to 826.84 and the Russell 2000 index fell 0.96 to 438.10.

The Treasury's 2-year note fell 1/32 to 10020/32; its yield rose 2 basis points to 2.42 percent. The 10-year note fell 1/8 to 106 - 1/2; its yield rose 2 basis points to 4.30 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/8 to 107 - 25/32; its yield rose 1 basis points to 4.87 percent.

"This is a market that's recognizing that it's come a long way in a relatively short period of time," said Charles G. Crane, strategist for Victory SBSF Capital Management.

In economic reports, a University of Michigan study released today showed a slight improvement in consumer sentiment. Also, the Labor Department reported that prices at the wholesale level plunged 1.6 percent in October, the biggest one-month drop in 54 years of record-keeping, as gasoline and energy prices fell by the largest amount in 12 years.