TECH STOCKS: Developments In Iraq Boost Markets

Stocks reversed their recent downward trend Tuesday immediately following early reports, and a later confirmation from U.S. Central Command, that two men killed in a six-hour shootout in the northern Iraq city of Mosul are the sons of former dictator Saddam Hussein. Odai and Qusai were ranked Nos. 2 and 3 on the U.S. most-wanted list in Iraq.

All major markets ended up for the day. The Dow Jones industrials rose 61.76 points, or 0.7%, to close at 9,158.45. The Nasdaq composite index rose 24.61 points, or 1.5%, to close at 1,706.02. The S&P 500 rose 9.30 points, or 0.95%, to end at 988.10.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock closed at $31.31, up 43 cents, or 1.4%, for the day on moderate volume of 80 million shares. Our InformationWeek 100 rose 4.73 points, or 1.9%, to close at 253.02.

"The market is celebrating a bit," Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., told The Associated Press. "One of the major pieces of background noise [in the market] was the disappointment that we don't have clear evidence of weapons of mass destruction [by Iraq] or clear evidence that we have Saddam Hussein or any of his direct relatives."