Composite Index

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks soared to record highs as better-than-expected earnings from Motorola Inc. helped restore confidence that second-quarter profits won't disappoint shareholders.Alliance Semiconductor Inc. and Seagate Technology Inc. added to the strength in tech stocks by posting better-than-expected earnings.The Nasdaq composite index, loaded with shares of technology companies, posted its biggest advance this year and its third-largest ever, up 18.41 to a record 988.63.Bank stocks got a big boost when First Chicago Corp.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell yesterday amid concern that rising borrowing costs will squelch consumer spending and corporate profits in the coming year.Rate-sensitive stocks such as Wells Fargo & Co. and Golden West Financial Corp. led the retreat, amid a flurry of buyout announcements. Telecom stocks slumped on the prospect of competition from WorldCom Inc., which said it would buy MFS Communications Co. for about $14.4 billion in stock.The 30-stock Dow industrial average fell 28.85 to 5,693.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday and the Dow Jones industrial average reached a record as Morgan Stanley & Co.'s Byron Wien forecast the average could reach 7,500 this year.International Business Machines Corp. led the 30-stock average's advance for a second day, much as the company did late last year. The industrials rose 23.09 to 6,567.18, erasing most of a 90-point slide.A retreat in bonds and a series of computer-guided "sell" orders derailed the rally for a few hours during the afternoon.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell again yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan signaled that the central bank is poised to raise interest rates to head off a run-up in inflation.A rebound in computer-related shares such as Sun Microsystems Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. helped temper the drop in the broad market, and sent the Nasdaq composite index up 9.97 to 1,259.26, its first gain in eight days.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 57.40 to 6,820.28. The 30-stock average has lost 135 points, or 1.9 percent, in three days on concern that interest rates could be headed higher.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell yesterday, led by Merck & Co., amid concern that profit growth may not meet expectations as competition intensifies.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.32 to 6,563.84, paced by Merck, on concern that Merck's best-selling cholesterol drugs may be losing market share to a new medication from Warner-Lambert Co.The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.52 to 760.60 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.94 to 1,249.43.The Russell 2,000 index of small capitalization stocks gained 0.76 to 346.73; the Wilshire 5,000 index of stocks on the New York, American and Nasdaq exchanges lost 37.15 to 7,268.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose in a topsy-turvy session yesterday, apparently lifted by unexpectedly strong earnings from Microsoft Corp. Yesterday's gains capped the Dow Jones industrial average's best week since December 1991."

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rallied yesterday as investors took advantage of a morning rout in computer issues to snap up discounted shares.A second straight rise in bonds sent bank, telephone, beverage and drug shares higher. The Dow Jones industrial average managed a 0.86-point gain after an 88-point drop in the first hour of trading. The average closed at 7,331.04. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.20 to 848.28.The gains masked carnage in Intel Corp., which plunged after the top maker of microprocessors said its sales were surprisingly weak in the second quarter.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday as investors snapped up shares of the computer-related companies that led the market's recent drop.Microsoft Corp., Lattice Semiconductor Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. paced the rise, amid renewed optimism that key companies in the computer industry will report strong second-quarter profits.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.63 to 7,305.29, only its second gain in seven sessions. The 30-stock average gave up about half of its early afternoon gain and is about 80 points shy of its all-time high of May 27.The advance came a day before the Labor Department's release of the monthly employment report, a gauge of economic strength that analysts use to speculate about the direction of interest rates.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday as a robust economy and falling bond yields fueled optimism that the market's recent slide from all-time highs has run its course. Drugmakers like Warner-Lambert Co. led a broad market advance.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.47 to 7,687.72, though it gave up more than two-thirds of a 116-point early-session advance. The 30-stock average is on course to record a 17 percent return for the second quarter ending Monday.The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 3.62 to 887.30.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell yesterday for a second day, although the Dow Jones industrial average recovered 170 points of losses in a late-day surge.Investors snapped up battered stocks such as AlliedSignal Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. in the last hour of trading, helping the Dow finish the day down 6.04 at 7,887.91 after having fallen 177."This market has an awful lot of resilience; it amazes everybody," said Warren Simpson, a managing director at Stephens Capital Management Inc. in Little Rock, Ark., which manages $600 million.