Wall Street up 70 after late surge

NEW YORK - US share and bond markets surged late yesterday, with gains by big cyclical companies pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest levels since the beginning of spring.

Encouraged by strong corporate earnings reports and stability in the value of the dollar, the Dow soared in the final hour, triggering curbs on computer-program trading.

It gained some 20 points in the last five minutes of trading, ending up 70.90 at 3,846.73. It was the biggest rise since 5 April, and brought the battered US market back to where it stood on 23 March.

The bond market also turned up late in the day, with the US 30-year long bond rising almost a full point, forcing down its yield to 7.32 per cent.

Traders were surprised by a sharp drop in US durable goods orders in July, which fell 4.2 per cent after rising by a revised 1.2 per cent in June. It was the steepest fall in two-and-a-half years. All categories of goods experienced falling orders.