Stocks shot higher yesterday, buoyed by rebounds in technology and blue-chip issues as the market apparently regained its footing amid uncertainty about corporate profits.

The upturn was a dramatic comeback for a market that has taken a beating all week on concerns about third-quarter earnings, higher oil prices and the weak European single currency.

The market advanced on a mix of bargain hunting and end-of-the-quarter trading.

Investors again focused on corporate earnings. Procter & Gamble jumped after the consumer products maker said it would meet Wall Street expectations for the third quarter after several disappointing quarters.

Internet and telecom stocks also emerged from a slump. Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and Lucent all finished higher.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a more than two-to-one margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.19 billion shares, ahead of the 1.16 billion in the previous session.