NEW YORK, March 9: The celebration on Wall Street was showing no sign of ending after four straight weeks of gains for blue chips as traders bet that the strengthening US economy would lift stocks even higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.96 percent in the week to Friday, for its fourth consecutive weekly gain, to close at 10,572.49.

The resurgent Nasdaq composite soared 7.04 per cent after last week’s gain of 4.53 per cent to close Friday at 1,929.67, erasing its losses from the disastrous month of February.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 index added 2.87 per cent to 1,1164.31.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan appeared to erase any lingering doubts about an end to the recession, telling senators on Thursday that a recovery was well underway.

Also helping the mood on Wall Street was a report showing the US economy in February added 66,000 jobs contrary to most forecasts expecting a decline suggesting more economic strength than anticipated.

The blue-chip Dow has reached its highest level since last July, but analysts say the rally is not over yet, with strong economic data fueling more interest in stocks, with the main indexes still below their record levels of two years ago.

Tobias Levkovich of Salomon Smith Barney said his firm raised its year-end target price for the Dow index to 11,400 from 10,800 and said the broader market may be even stronger.

At 11,400, we would note that there is still another nearly eight per cent upside appreciation potential for the Dow versus about 13-17 per cent appreciation potential for the S and P 500, he said in a research note.

We think that over the next few weeks, more companies will concede that things are in fact improving another powerful rally could occur in April as upward earnings revisions mix with potential breakouts on the charts, thereby bringing in momentum money.

Abby Joseph Cohen was even more optimistic, saying the Dow could go as high as 12,400 and the S and P up to 1,425 by the end of the year.

Recent data suggest that economic activity has bottomed and that the worst is now being reported for corporate profits, Cohen said in a note to clients.

As such, stock price gains are expected to continue, supported by improvements in corporate performance, and mild-mannered inflation and interest rates.

The bond market however slid as more money flowed to stocks and investors became concerned about potential inflation and higher interest rates.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped to 5.312 per cent from 4.973 per cent a week earlier and on the 30-year bond to 5.707 per cent from 5.502 per cent. A rise in yields reflects a drop in bond prices.

Among active stocks, steel firms rose on President George W. Bush’s decision to impose new import tariffs: Bethlehem Steel jumped 22.5 per cent to 49 cents and US Steel 3.80 per cent to $17.76.

Hewlett-Packard and Compaq rose after US regulators approved their merger plans, even though a shareholder battle is not yet over. HP was up 1.88 per cent to 20.59 and Compaq 13.03 per cent to 11.80.

Intel share rose 10.30 per cent to 34.17 after it said its revenues will likely meet or beat expectations.—AFP