Stocks gained yesterday, led by a rebound in technology shares and a bond market rally after three days of weakness.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 17.38 points at 5,711.27. In the broader market, advancing issues beat declines 1,387 to 899 on moderate volume of 306 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

In the bond market, the 30-year Treasury rose 10/32, or $3.125 on a $1,000 bond, lowering its yield to 6.97 per cent from 7.00 per cent at Monday's close.

Bonds rose despite news that suggested that the economy will strengthen in the months ahead, which may encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to slow economic growth.

The Conference Board, a business research group, reported that its index of consumer confidence rose to a six-year high of 109.4 in August from a revised reading of 107.0 in July.