Tech stocks surge
Wall Street has extended its advance with a moderate rally that boosted technology stocks but failed to take the Dow Jones industrials above 10,000.
Analysts attributed the Dow's stall to investors' doubts that the stock market might be rising too much, too quickly.
The index has been flirting with the 10,000 level and bull market territory for a week now.
A report from the National Bureau of Economic Research confirming the United States is in a recession added to the debate.
"There's a tug of war between the bears and the bulls here," said Brian Belski, fundamental market strategist at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray.
"I think the market is in pretty good shape. The problem, I think, though, is that many investors are having a hard time diagnosing when earnings will start to turn positive. And we don't see positive earnings, positive growth until the latter half of 2002."
The Dow closed up 23.04, or 0.2%, at 9,982.75, rebounding from a deficit of 55 points earlier in the session. Although the Dow briefly crossed the 10,000 mark last week, it has not closed above that level since September 5, six days before the terrorist attacks.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The technology-laden Nasdaq composite index was up 38.03, or 2%, at 1,941.23, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.08, or 0.6%, to 1,157.42.
The Dow is now more than 21% above the 2001 low set on September 21 after the terror attacks. A bull market technically is defined as a 20% or greater recovery from a low.
But analysts warn against confusing a rebound with a rally. They note that much of stocks' recent gains have come as the market makes up the precipitous losses that followed the terrorist attacks. Investors also have shown limited faith in the gains, selling stocks periodically to lock in profits for fear the run-up won't continue.
