Tech Backers Boost Nasdaq; Dow Tumbles

Stocks closed broadly higher Friday as tech investors shrugged off another rise in intermediate-term Treasury bond yields in the wake of the government’s latest report on wage and benefit costs.

The Nasdaq composite jumped 86.63 points, or 2.3%, to 3,860.66--the highest since April 11.

Market breadth was strong, although trading volume remained modest. Winners topped losers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange and by 26 to 15 on Nasdaq, but the Dow dropped 154.19 points, or 1.4%, to 10,733.91 as financial stocks were hit.

Investors returned to biotech, telecom, chip and Internet names. Nasdaq now has bounced back 16% from its closing low on April 14.

Still, the index fell 15.6% in April, the biggest drop since August 1998. The S&P; 500 fell 3.1% this month, while the Dow lost 1.7%.

For the week, the Nasdaq gained 6%, the S&P; 500 advanced 1.3% and the Dow lost 1%.

On Friday long-term bond yields eased but yields on intermediate-term securities rose again, after surging Thursday in the wake of the government’s report of a sharp jump in employment costs in the first quarter.

In other markets, gold fell Friday to another eight-month low on fears about upcoming Swiss sales.

Among Friday’s highlights:

* Disney rose $2 to $43.63 after Merrill Lynch raised it to long-term “buy” from “accumulate.” Entertainment shares in general were strong.

* Financial stocks slid for a second day, including Dow components J.P. Morgan, down $3 to $128.38, and American Express, down $5.50 to $149.50.

* Tech leaders helping to fuel the rally included Qualcomm, up $4.94 to $108.44; Oracle, up $2.63 to $79.94; Intel, up $1.50 to $126.81; and Yahoo, up $5.94 to $130.25.

* Chinadotcom’s U.S. shares gained $10.19 to $48.63 after a 2-for-1 stock split was approved. The Hong Kong-based Internet company will split its shares May 8 for holders of record Friday.

* Starbucks sank $6.83 to $30.23 after quarterly profit matched the average estimate of analysts but fell short of the unofficial “whisper number.”

* Conseco fell $1.38 to $5.63, as Chief Executive Stephen Hilbert and his top deputy are quitting amid tumbling earnings.

* In the initial public offering market, Monrovia-based Software Technologies (ticker symbol: STCS) climbed $5.88 to $17.88 in its Nasdaq debut.

Among other Southland stocks, EMachines jumped $2.38 to $8.56 after the Irvine-based PC seller reported a 1-cent quarterly profit, versus an expected 5-cent loss.

Market Roundup, C4