Abreast of the market: Industrials climb 16.99 on gains in economically sensitive issues
NEW YORK -- Economically sensitive stocks and oil-related issues lifted the market after more reassuring news on inflation.</br></br>Stocks followed bonds back and forth early in the day but managed to remain higher in the afternoon even as the debt market faded.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 16.99, or 0.44%, to 3865.14 -- its highest close since Feb. 23. The Treasury's 30-year bond lost 3/8 point, pushing up its yield to 6.82%.</br></br>But analysts played down the importance of the divergence and attributed a large part of the stock market optimism to hopes that interest rates have begun to stabilize after the big increases last month and early in March.</br></br>An economic reading from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helped reassure that belief. It included indications that product prices have moderated in the Philadelphia region.