Buying surge ends slump

STRONG buying in technology, blue-chip and energy stocks amid a surge in oil prices yesterday stoked a broad-based rally after a two-week market slump.

Around 1:25pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 133.56 to 8567.27, while the Nasdaq composite rose 27.17 to 1389.59 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 15.42 to 904.90.

Light crude oil futures gained $1.20 to $29.65, hitting a two-month high on fears of a shortage as a strike in Venezuela headed into its third week.