Stocks rose modestly Wednesday, led by the technology sector, as the Dow industrials managed to gain for the second consecutive session for the first time in five weeks. The volatile session also was marked by plunging oil prices and continuing worries about the U.S. banking sector. Stocks jumped early in the session and were volatile through the afternoon before staging another rally near the close. The U.S. budget deficit in February increased by $192.8 billion, the government reported. The deficit for the first five months of fiscal-year 2009 rose to a record $764.5 billion, more than $300 billion higher than the entire deficit for fiscal-year 2008, which was a record high. The budget deficit has been rising because of lower tax revenue and higher government spending on the financial rescue plan. In economic news, four U.S. states' unemployment rates rose above 10 percent in January, and during the month 49 states and the city of Washington saw higher unemployment rates. Light sweet crude oil for April delivery fell $3.38 to $42.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped after the U.S. government reported that crude supplies rose last week and amid signs of global demand falling, particularly in China. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.91, or less than 0.1 percent, to 6,930.40. Financial and technology shares gained. Hewlett-Packard jumped 6 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.76, or 0.2 percent, to 721.36. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 13.36, or 1 percent, to 1,371.64. Apple, Dell, eBay, and Google all gained. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 6.00 to 4.505.38. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 30.26 to 1,265.68. And the Russell 2000 index fell 1.45 to 366.30.
