WALL Street stocks rallied yesterday as bonds prices continued to firm. The Dow Jones industrial average flirted briefly with a new record before a late sell off. It closed up 63.59 points at 5,600.15.
After spending most of the morning slightly lower, the 30 year Treasury bond moved into positive territory by early afternoon and its yield edged down to about 6.34 per cent. Lower interest rates can aid corporate profits by cutting borrowing costs and spurring business activity.
Advances outnumbered declines by more than two to one on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,625 up, 772 down and 705 unchanged.
NYSE volume was 417.23 million shares, against Friday's 471.38 million.
The NYSE's composite index rose 3.69 to 348.87. The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index rose 6.44 to 650.81. The Nasdaq composite index rose 2.24 to 1,088.32.
