Dow jumps 196
despite tech woes

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By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Bargain hunting gave the stock market a generous boost today, as investors took advantage of lower prices after a two-day selloff and sent the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 200 points.

Investors traded more cautiously in the tech sector, however, troubled by reports of improper accounting at Computer Associates.

The Dow rose 196.03 to close at 9,941.17, partly recovering from a drop of 256.85 in the previous two sessions.

The Nasdaq composite index lagged behind the Dow for much of the day, but in a late surge gained 24.96 to 1,775.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.64 to 1,097.98.

Advancers beat decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,896 up, 1,224 down and 226 unchanged. Volume was 1.40 billion shares. The NYSE composite index rose 7.06 to 569.14, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 2.85 to 847.04 and the Russell 2000 index rose 7.27 to 467.25.

The Treasury's 2-year note fell 2/32 to 100 2/32; its yield rose 3 basis points to 2.97 percent. The 10-year note fell 18 to 99 78; its yield gained 2 basis points to 4.89 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/32 to 99 2532; its yield was unchanged at 5.39 percent.

Accounting concerns again plagued Wall Street. Computer Associates plunged 17.4 percent, down $4.40 to $20.91, on reports published in Newsday and The New York Times that federal prosecutors are investigating whether the company deliberately overstated sales and profits to inflate its stock price. IBM, which dropped Friday on reports that were critical of its accounting, slipped 23 cents to $99.31.

But Wall Street's lower prices helped the market at least temporarily set aside their accounting concerns. Half of the Dow's 30 stocks were up more than $1, with the biggest gain coming from 3M, up $3.73 at $117.10.

Dow industrial DuPont gained 82 cents to 46.33 on an upgrade, to "strong buy" from "market perform", by Deutsche Banc Alex Brown.

Circuit City climbed $2.21 to $24.32 after Merrill Lynch raised its near- and long-term recommendations to "strong buy" from "buy."

Oracle rose 72 cents to $15.51 after Banc of America upgraded the software maker to "buy" from "market perform."

The market was barely swayed by a report that consumer inflation inched up 0.2 percent in January, after dipping 0.1 percent in December.