Blue-chip stocks rallied in New York yesterday and the broad market halted a four-session slump after popular names such as Disney, Ford and Merck posted robust profit reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 102.14 points - or 1.32 per cent - to 7,815.08. Broader stock indicators also posted sizeable gains, with some moving back within reach of record terrain.

With just three sessions left in January - a month that frequently predicts the entire year's fortunes - the Dow is now down less than 100 points for the month and the Standard and Poor's 500 is almost unchanged.

In the absence of any major developments in the economic crisis in Asia or the political crisis at the White House, company reports on the final three months of 1997 dominated trading.

The biggest gain on the Dow was by Disney, which surged after the media conglomerate reported a fourth-quarter profit of $755 million that beat Wall Street forecasts.