Techs Push Stocks Back Up

Stocks moved higher today, boosted by the first upward bump in tech shares in seven days. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway said it might invest in municipal bond insurers, Bloomberg reports. The company is "looking at ways to support the existing insurers in terms of reinsurance and capital," one exec said. The Dow was up 146.24 to 12,735.31, the Nasdaq 34.04 to 2,474.55, and the S&P 18.94 to 1,409.13.

Hewlett-Packard's announcement that it could withstand an economic slowdown helped along the tech rally, and Gilead Sciences and Pfizer rose after Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that big pharma could also weather a slowing economy, Bloomberg reports. Financials moved back upward after hitting a four-year low, led by Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. (More stock market stories.)