Late buying boosts
Dow, Nasdaq

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By Lisa Singhania
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> A burst of last-minute bargain hunting gave the stock market a modest gain today, but lingering doubts about the timing of a business recovery limited a broader rally.

Analysts said the market was waiting for the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, which begins tomorrow. Although the committee is not expected to reduce interest rates, traders want to see what predictions the Fed makes about an economic turnaround.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 25.67 at 9,865.75, recovering from a drop of as much as 41 points.

The broader market was mixed. The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 6.22 to 1,943.92, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.22 to 1,133.06.

Advancers edged decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,654 up, 1,484 down and 199 unchanged. Volume was 1.17 billion shares vs. 1.34 billion traded Friday.

The Treasury's 2-year note was unchanged at 99 - 21/32; its yield stayed at 3.18 percent. The 10-year note fell 2/32 to 99 - 13/32; its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.08 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/32 to 98 - 21/32; its yield remained at 5.47 percent.

While Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan indicated last week the economy appears to be strengthening, traders will be closely reading the Fed's statement on the economy that's expected to follow the meeting on Wednesday.

Even in the absence of a rate cut, investors hope the Fed will be able to provide more concrete information about when a recovery will come, and which sectors will turn around first.

In trading today, American Express stumbled 70 cents to $36.29 as fourth-quarter net income fell 56 percent to $297 million, or 22 cents per share, and revenues fell 2 percent to $5.59 billion.

But investors bid General Motors up $1.86, or 3.8 percent, to $50.34 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the automaker to "outperform" from "neutral."

Technology stocks were also mixed.

IBM fell $1.13 to $108.15, while Cisco Systems advanced 57 cents to $19.70 and Texas Instruments, which after the market closed beat analysts' estimates with a narrower loss of $116 million, or 7 cents per share, was up 95 cents, or 3.5 percent, at $28.40. Sales fell 41 percent to $1.79 billion.

Also today, the Commerce Department reported new home sales rose 5.7 percent in December. The gain was helped by the Federal Reserve's 11 interest rate cuts in 2001, which made it cheaper to borrow money.