Industrials Recoup 63.02, As Rates Hit 4-Year Lows
Stock prices regained some ground following Friday's losses, as the bond-market rally gathered steam and sent interest rates to four-year lows.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased more than two-thirds of Friday's drop of 90.21 points, rising 63.02 to 7819.31, despite another day of Asian declines.</br></br>Still, while the market ended in positive territory, it wasn't a smooth ride. Midway through the day, most benchmarks slumped into negative territory as more investors took advantage of the early-morning gains to sell and take profits.</br></br>"With the interest-rate environment stable to improving, there's no question that the focus continues to shift to earnings," said Warren Epstein, trading head at Richard A. Rosenblatt in New York.</br></br>The interest-rate picture remains the most benign in many years. Yesterday, the 30-year bellwether Treasury rose 18/32, or $5.625 per $1,000 bond, to yield 5.87%, the lowest level since October 1993. The rally was fueled in part by the latest slump in Asian stock markets. (Rates move in the opposite direction to bond prices.)