Late rally gives
Wall Street a win

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By Lisa Singhania
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Wall Street got its first winning session in more than a week today, after encouraging news from Oracle launched a last-minute tech rally. The Dow Jones industrials surged more than 100 points.

The gains came late in the day, with technology stocks advancing solidly only after news reports said Oracle did not plan to issue an earnings warning for its fourth quarter. Analysts said the response reflected Wall Street's hunger for something to rally on, and did not signal any improvement in market conditions.

"The market has been very oversold and people have been very pessimistic and we were due for a rally," said Stephen Massocca, president of Pacific Growth Equities. "People had been betting Oracle would warn. When it didn't, it became an excuse for people to buy."

Advancing issues led decliners more than 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.29 billion issues, compared with 1.47 billion issues at the same point yesterday.

The Dow closed up 108.96, or 1.1 percent, at 9,796.80, after losing 237 points over Monday and yesterday.

Broader stock measures also rose, particularly the Nasdaq composite index, which soared 17.13, or 1.1 percent, to 1,595.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.21, or 0.9 percent, to 1,049.90. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.28 to 475.04.

It was the first session all three indicators closed higher since May 23, and followed what has been a difficult period for the markets. On Monday, the Dow fell to levels last seen in early February, while the Nasdaq recorded its lowest close since Oct. 2.

The price of the Treasury's 10-year note lost 1/8 point today, while its yield rose to 5.05 percent from 5.04 percent late yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were unchanged at 100 7/32 with a yield of 3.14 percent.

The day started on a quieter note. Wal-Mart reported stronger-than-expected May sales and Avon reaffirmed its forecast, but the news failed to spark a broad rally. Although blue chips trended higher for much of the session, technology didn't catch up until the Oracle announcement.

Wal-Mart rose 96 cents today to $54.96, while Avon surged $2.69, or 5.2 percent, to $54.64.

Although many analysts expect that May retail sales overall will be disappointing, the buying still spread to other retailers. The Gap rose 63 cents to $15.18 after Prudential Securities upgraded the stock.

Financial issues also advanced. American Express gained 92 cents to $41.01.

Technology stocks got a boost from Oracle, which gained 84 cents, or 10 percent, to $8.66.

Microsoft rose $1.68 to $51.66. And Intel jumped 68 cents to $28.18, despite spending much of the session at a loss. Intel is scheduled to release a midquarter update tomorrow. The stock is considered an indicator of where the broader tech sector is headed, and Oracle's announcement might have allayed investors' fears that Intel's news would be terrible.

The market was pleased by Oracle's announcement because few companies have felt confident enough to forecast solid business ahead. Earnings reports due out next month could alleviate or intensify Wall Street's concerns about the pace of a recovery.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.1 percent. In Europe, Germany's DAX index was nearly flat, Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1.9 percent, and France's CAC-40 gained 0.3 percent.