A late-session technology stock rally caused the Nasdaq composite to rebound into positive ground late in the trading day yesterday. The Nasdaq composite was up 14 points at 2,259.

Traders and strategists attributed the rebound from early sharp losses to Bear Stearns' chief economist saying there was a 60 per cent chance the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 50 basis points early next week, and a technical bounce in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Earlier in the trading day, the S&P 500 struck 1,222, representing a 20 per cent decline from the broad market measure's high hit 11 months ago.