Dow Surges Above 8,000 With 103-Point Gain

The Dow Jones industrial average pushed back above 8,000 Wednesday, rolling to a 100-point gain for an unprecedented third straight day, as the stock market extended a lightning quick rebound from this month’s slide.

The Dow, which rose 108 points on Monday and nearly 115 on Tuesday, rose an additional 103.13 to 8,021.23, easily wiping out the remnants of Friday’s 247-point tumble.

Broad market indexes also advanced for the third straight day, led again by the technology-rich Nasdaq composite index, which nearly shot back into record territory.

“It’s the rubber-band effect more than anything else,” said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co., calling the market’s sharp down-turn an overreaction. “Granted, stock prices are vastly overvalued, but that alone usually doesn’t cause bear markets.”

Surprisingly, Wednesday’s gains came despite a weak session in the bond market, where interest rates rose after a robust reading on export activity reaggravated some inflation fears.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by more than a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was heavy again at 518.15 million shares as of 4 p.m., down slightly from Tuesday’s pace.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday:

NYSE

Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, up 15/16 at 96-1/16.

Rhone-Poulenc SA, the French chemical and drug concern, offered $97 a share, or about $4.3 billion, to buy the remaining 31.9 percent of RPR, its U.S.-based affiliate. The offer is $5 a share higher than a June bid by Rhone Poulenc.

NASDAQ

Dell Computer, up 3-1/8 at 87-13/16.

The nation’s largest direct seller of computers reported late Tuesday that its second-quarter profits more than doubled, beating Wall Street’s expectations.

Just For Feet, down 2-7/8 at 12-1/2.

The footwear retailer reported second-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Just For Feet, based in Birmingham, Ala., reported its results late Tuesday.

Lycos, up 4-7/16 at 25-9/16.

The Internet search service formed a three-year marketing partnership with Barnes & Noble, which launched an Internet-based bookstore earlier this year. Lycos is based in Framingham, Mass.

Pairgain Technology, up 2-13/16 at 25-3/8.

Hambrecht & Quits upgraded its rating on Pairgain’s shares from “buy” to “strong buy,” the Dow Jones News Service reported.

Check Technology, down 2 at 4-1/4.

Liberty Check Printers terminated talks to purchase Imaggia MG20 print production systems from Minneapolis-based Check. Liberty, a Roseville, Minn.-based check printer, also plans to return an Imaggia unit it had been testing.