Stocks Score Welcome Follow-Through Gain As Nasdaq, S&P 500 Advance 2% On Volume.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)

Byline: Jonah Keri

A broad rally lifted the major indexes Friday, giving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq their long-awaited follow-through sessions.

The S&P jumped 2.2%. NYSE volume grew 19% vs. Thursday's level and ended well above the 50-day average. The Nasdaq bounced 2.6% as volume eked out a small gain. A follow-through occurs when one or more of the major indexes rises at least 2% on higher volume than the previous session.

The Dow also fared well, adding 1.9% as it just missed its own follow-through. Breadth was solid, as Nasdaq and NYSE winners trounced losers.

Friday's move stemmed largely from the market's action Sept. 17-21. That week, the market reopened to a wave of fear after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Feeding The Bears

Bears had ravaged portfolios for 18 months by that point. But investors hadn't seen the extreme levels of fear that typically signal a market bottom. That week's climactic sell-off spiked the put/call volume ratio to a lofty 1.21, the CBOE Market Volatility Index to its highest level since 1998, and triggered a rare victory for bears over bulls in the Investors Intelligence survey.