Stocks Jump 70 Pts.

NEW YORK Stocks leaped this afternoon as bond prices extendedtheir gains and pushed interest rates lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 70.90 points to close at3,846.73, breaching a critical 3,800 resistance level.

Stocks rose in concert with bonds and the dollar, after theCommerce Department said orders to U.S. factories for big-ticketitems declined a surprising 4.2 percent in July, the biggest drop in2 1/2 years.

Bonds headed higher early in the session, then extended theirgains after a successful auction by the Treasury of new five-yearnotes. The 30-year bond was nearly a point, reducing its yield to7.46 percent from 7.54 percent …