Hopes for a Summer Rally Fuel Big Gains for Stocks
Hoping to see a summer rally after the Federal Reserve does its interest-rate deed today, investors bid stocks up again.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 160.20 points, or 1.5%, to 10815.35, its third consecutive gain. The Nasdaq Composite Index, full of rebounding technology stocks, surged 39.67 points, or 1.5%, to 2642.11. It stands 9.94 points, or 0.4%, short of its April 26 record close of 2652.05.</br></br>Bonds rose again, and the dollar was mixed.</br></br>"The market's strength really caught most of us by surprise" given that the Fed is widely expected to raise its guideline interest rates this afternoon, said Andy Brooks, head of stock trading at Baltimore mutual-fund group T. Rowe Price. "I guess the market is saying, `We are already comfortable with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by a quarter [percentage] point Wednesday,'" he said. "But if it is more than that, I think it would be kind of a shock. It is another sign of the market being very comfortable with how [Fed Chairman Alan] Greenspan orchestrates this whole process. He telegraphs well."</br></br>The Fed's policy-making committee has been meeting yesterday and today, and any interest-rate announcement is expected at about 2:15 p.m. EDT.