Technology stocks led a broad advance in New York yesterday, with the Dow industrials nearly matching Monday's 150-point rally. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 139.80 points - or 1.6per cent - to 8,714.65, erasing another chunk of a 1,000-point, month-long plunge from the July 17th record of 9,337.97.

Broad-market indicators also extended a rally that began on Monday as President Clinton began his testimony, ending months of uncertainty.

The leading concern remains profits, although there was encouragement on that front. Hewlett-Packard, one of several major companies that rattled the market last month with profit warnings, topped Wall Street's deflated forecasts with its quarterly report after Monday's close.

Meanwhile, with financial crises in Asia and Russia continuing to weigh heavily, there was little attention paid to a Federal Reserve meeting that ended with no change in the central bank's interest rates.