Blue Chips Avoid Retreat After Monday Gain
STOCKS MANAGED to avoid a retreat following Monday's big gain.</br></br>Many investors had feared a pullback after stocks put in big gains on Friday afternoon and again on Monday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 213.21 points. Instead, the industrial average yesterday rose an additional 0.19%, or 18.70 points, to 9706.12.</br></br>That means that the blue chips now are up 445.13 points since hitting an intraday low of 9260.99 during trading on Friday.</br></br>"Considering the gains we had from the worst of Friday through Monday, it is a pretty positive sign that the market didn't give it back," said Larry Lawler, head of stock trading at New York mutual-fund group Dreyfus. "Now, the market is taking a pause and people are stepping back to see what shakes out and where we are headed."</br></br>The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 0.09%, or 0.97 point, to 1037.14, leaving it down 10% this year. Technology stocks fell back, however, pulling the Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.67%, or 10.33 points, to 1542.96, down 21% so far this year. The Dow industrials are down 3% this year.