Bargain hunt boosts stocks

NEW YORK--Placing some bets despite their worries about theeconomy, bargain-hunting investors sent the stock market highertoday.

Wall Street enjoyed a healthy advance in late afternoon tradingafter investors spent much of the day pondering what the FederalReserve's seventh interest rate cut will mean for the economy.Investors had been alternating between worries that the quarter-point cut, which the Fed made Tuesday, won't be enough toreinvigorate the economy and relief that the central bank didn'tthink the economy needed a bigger cut.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 102.76, or 1 percent, at10,276.90.

"Contrary sentiment was getting overdone," said …