Dow Gains 37 Following Economic Reports
Stocks followed bonds sharply higher today, as investors sifted through several economic reports and decided that there is a chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the near future.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average gained 36.98 points to close at 4647.54. The price of the Treasury's benchmark 30-year bond ended with a gain of $4.69 per $1,000 in face value in shortened pre-holiday trading. Its yield fell to 6.61 percent from 6.65 percent late Thursday.</br></br>Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by about 11 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE volume was relatively light in pre-holiday trading -- 255.72 million shares, down from 300.9 million Thursday.</br></br>Broad market indexes lagged blue chips but managed some gains, as technology stocks turned in a mixed performance. The American Stock Exchange index rose 1.20 to 535.66, topping its closing record set on Thursday; the NYSE composite index climbed 1.23 to 303.23; and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 1.96 to 563.84. But the Nasdaq index fell 0.60 to 1019.51.</br></br>The market started the day slightly lower, after the Labor Department reported a surprising 0.1-percentage point drop in the nation's unemployment rate in August, to 5.6 percent.