NEW YORK -- Stocks bounced back today, with the Dow Jones industrial average tacking on more than 100 points after threatening to extend Friday's 247-point plunge. Dow roars back
to gain 108.7The Dow rebounded over the final two hours of trading, erasing a 76-point slide and then rising 108.70 points to close at 7,803.36
Decliners led advancers by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,418 up, 1,476 down and 522 unchanged. NYSE volume was 517.16 million shares vs. 530.34 million Friday.
Broad-market measures also rallied late, led by the technology group, which had been struggling after a disappointing profit report from Hewlett-Packard Co.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list, which was down 71/2 points this afternoon after losing nearly 24 points on Friday, rose 11.68 to close at 912.49. The Nasdaq composite index, which lost nearly 25 points on Friday, rebounded from a 16-point loss earlier today and ended the day up 7.49 points to 1,569.52. The NYSE index rose 4.45 to 473.55, but the American Stock Exchange composite slipped 0.02 to 634.59.
While many market observers believe the economic pace remains modest enough to keep inflationary pressures in check, a pickup in consumer activity has created concerns that Federal Reserve officials will slow things down by boosting the central bank's interest rates.
No rate hike is expected at tomorrow's Fed strategy session, but central bank officials could take action when they meet again in September.