Better Late Than Never: Major Indices Charge Higher at Close

(Updated from 4:18 p.m. EDT)

Closing numbers: Dow: up 164.6 points, or 1.6%, to 10,405.7. Nasdaq: up 25.2 points, or 1.3%, to 1984.4. S&P 500: up 18.9 points, or 1.6%, to 1190.5. 10-year Treasury note: down 15/32 to 98 21/32, yielding 5.180%.

Blue-chips rallied to finish near their session highs today, and tech stocks closed with a bang, even as companies continue to take their guidance down going into the second half of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up by 164.6 points, or 1.6%, to 10,405.7. The Nasdaq gained 25.2 points, or 1.3%, to 1984.4, and the broader-market S&P 500 added on 18.9 points, or 1.6%, to 1190.5.

Lucent (LU) climbed 3.7% to $6.67. AT&T(T) gained 3.6% to $20.15 on reports that it's holding talks about merging its cable TV business with AOL-Time Warner's(AOL) operations. AT&T Wireless(AWE) rose 3.4% to $17.32. The company reported 37% increase in second-quarter revenue on Tuesday.

SBC Communications(SBC) closed up by 6.3% to $43.38 on the heels of its second-quarter earnings announcement, which beat analysts' estimates.

Chip and mobile phone maker Texas Instruments(TXN) rose 4.7% to $31.61 despite analysts at ABN Amro and Credit Suisse First Boston trimming the company's third-quarter earnings estimates.

Supplemental insurance firm Aflac(AFL) dropped $3.35, or 10.6%, to $28.20 despite posting second-quarter earnings that were in line with analysts' expectations.

PeopleSoft(PSFT) added on 12.2% to $38.40 after beating Wall Street's second-quarter estimates. The company also reaffirmed its full-year earnings outlook after the close Tuesday. Storage firm EMC(EMC) rose 1.2% to $18.17, despite Salomon Smith Barney's downgrade of data storage companies earlier today.

In overseas activity, the FTSE-100 dropped 44.50 points, or 0.8% to 5275.70. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 8.36 points, or 0.1%, to 11,891.61 on news Japanese policymakers will discuss tax changes for stock investments. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 22.35, or 0.2%, to 12,214.1.

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