Wall Street began the fourth quarter with a huge rally Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to a record close. Stocks were buoyed by a growing belief that the worst of the credit crisis has passed.

The Dow rose 191.92, or 1.38%, to 14,087.55, surpassing its closing record of 14,000.41 set in mid-July. The blue chip index rose as high as 14,115.51 to eclipse its previous intraday high of 14,021.95 set July 17.

While the beginning of the new quarter was an incentive for institutional investors to buy, they also seemed to be motivated by a sense that banks and other financial companies generally weathered the recent credit market upheaval. Both Citigroup and Switzerland's UBS AG issued third-quarter profit warnings, but indicated the current period might see a return to normal earnings levels.

Meanwhile, the market was optimistic that new economic data might nudge the Federal Reserve toward another interest rate cut at its Oct. 30-31 meeting. The Institute for Supply Management said the manufacturing sector grew in September at the slowest pace in six months; the trade group said its index of manufacturing activity registered at 52.0 in September, below forecasts for a reading of at least 52.5.

Enthusiasm about acquisition activity picked up after Nokia unveiled an $ 8.1 billion offer to buy navigation-software maker Navteq Corp. The deal was seen as a signal that corporations are feeling comfortable in making big moves despite recent market turbulence.

Broader market indexes also rose sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 20.29, or 1.33%, to 1,547.04, nearing its all-time trading high of 1,555.90, also reached in mid-July. The Nasdaq composite index rose 39.49, or 1.46%, to 2,740.99; the tech-laden index remains well below its high of 5,048.62, reached in 2000 when it was bloated by the dot-com boom.

The Dow finished a turbulent third quarter with a 3.6% gain, after the Fed eased investor concerns over the credit and housing markets by lowering key interest rates half a percentage point.

Bonds moved higher Monday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.55% from 4.59% late Friday. Fixed-income investors, currently concerned about the dollar's recent weakness, interpreted the ISM report as not necessarily portending an interest rate cut, which would further erode the U.S. currency.


Indian ADRs end strong; VSNL spurts 12%

Indian ADRs had a good day yesterday and majority of them ended in the green with the exception of Patni COmputers. In the technology segment, Infosys Technologies was up 4.42% at 50.53, Satyam COmputers was up 2.47% at 26.53, Wipro was up 2.15% at 14.75 and Patni COmputers ended the day 0.30% lower at 23.28.

In the non-tech pack, ICICI Bank was up 3.5% at 54.57, HADFC Bank was up 1.68% at 108.93, MTNL was up 5.96% at 8.36, VSNL was up 11.77% at 24.50, Dr. Reddy's Lab was up 4.22% at 17.05, Tata Motors was up 2.25% at 19.57 and Sterlite was up 3.95% at 19.23.