Rate-Cut Hopes Lift Stocks
-- Buyers took back control of Wall Street today on a bet that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates before its March 20 meeting.</br></br>Blue chips soared and technology issues recorded more modest gains as the market temporarily set aside worries about the economy. The advance gained momentum after former Fed governor Wayne Angell, now a Bear, Stearns economist, expressed optimism that such a rate cut would indeed occur.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 200.63 at 10,642.53. The 1.9 percent gain represented the Dow's biggest one-day point increase since Jan. 3, when it rose 299 points.</br></br>The Nasdaq composite index advanced 45.99, to 2308.50, a 2.0 percent increase, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 21.79, or 1.8 percent, to 1267.65.</br></br>"The market has some hope that the Fed might move this week," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investment Associates. "The second thing happening here is that I think the market was really oversold. You tend to get a snapback after that."