H-P earnings, retail sales
catapult market higher

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By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> A record jump in retail sales and better-than-expected earnings by Hewlett-Packard sent stocks higher today for the second straight session.

After weeks of rallying, the Dow Jones industrials are now halfway between the 9,605 level held before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and 10,000.

"Retail sales were fabulous. Everyone loved that. It's positive economic news, and we haven't had enough of that," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 72.66, or 0.8 percent, at 9,823.61, according to preliminary calculations. The Dow yesterday rose 196 on positive news out of Afghanistan, where Taliban forces fled the capital, Kabul.

The market's broader indicators were also higher, after dipping occasionally into negative territory. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 11.08, or 0.6 percent, to 1,903.19, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.12, or 0.2 percent, to 1,141.21.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,866 rising, 1,252 falling and 233 unchanged. Volume came to 1.41 billion shares, ahead of the 1.35 billion shares traded yesterday.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller company stocks, rose 4.48, or 1.0 percent, to 452.82. The NYSE composite index rose 1.17 to 579.48. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 10.89 to 818.60.

The price of the U.S. Treasury's 10-year note fell 1 6/32 to 103 23/32 while its yield rose 15 basis points to 4.523. The price of the 30-year note fell 1 19/32 to 105 12/32, with its yield rising 10 basis points to 5.021. The price of the 2-year note fell 11/32 to 100 3/32 with its yield rising 19 basis points to 2.700.

Crude oil today fell close to a two-year low today to $19.63 a barrel after OPEC ministers said they won't reduce output without cuts by non-members.

OPEC is willing to reduce daily production quotas by 6.5 percent to cope with slowing demand.