Month ends better on acquisitions, spending

NEW YORK - A turnaround in personal spending and a flurry of acquisition activity sent stocks higher Monday, but it wasn't enough to salvage a topsy-turvy month. The major indexes fell in October.

While the upswing in spending bolstered the retail and technology sectors, Steven Goldman, the chief market strategist at Weeden & Co., also linked Monday's rally to a broad recovery from last week's lows and typical end-of-the-month trading as hedge funds and mutual funds try to boost returns. He also cited strong gains in the European markets.

"Basically, we had market sentiment get a bit too one-sided," Mr. Goldman said about recent down days on Wall Street. "Stocks were getting in place to rebound."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 37.30, or 0.36 percent, to 10,440.07, after adding as much as 83 points late in the session.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 8.60, or 0.72 percent, at 1,207.01, and the Nasdaq composite index surged 30.42, or 1.46 percent, to 2,120.30.

Bonds advanced, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling to 4.55 percent from 4.57 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against most major currencies, and gold prices inched upward.

For the month, the Dow fell 1.22 percent, the Nasdaq lost 1.45 percent and the S&P 500 was lower by 1.77 percent.

Concerns about rising interest rates have haunted the market in recent weeks, with some afraid that the Federal Reserve will push rates too high and send the economy sliding. Although there is little doubt the Fed will lift rates a quarter-percentage point at its meeting today, analysts say changes to its policy language could move the market.