By Gavin Adamson

(March 9 – 17:00 ET) – Volatile markets bounced back today. The Nasdaq Composite Index closied over 5,000 for the first time. The Dow crawled back over 10,000 again.

Nasdaq added 150.46 to close at 5,047, led by a broad base of biotech, hardware software and Internet companies. AOL was heavily traded, closing up US$5 3/16 to $60 1/16. Gainers outplayer losers by 25-18 on the exchange.

The Dow jumped to 154 to 10,010, led by a host of blue chips, like Merck, Hewlett Packard, and Home Depot.. Winners beat losers by 17-13 on the NYSE. The S&P rebounded, replacing the 35.99 it lost yesterday, to close at 1401.39.

In Canada, the TSE crept up by 132.53, to 9,413.67. BCE inhced up by C$ to $174, Nortel added $290 to $178.45. The banks performed well with the Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion adding 35 cents each to $58.45 and $33.95 respectively.

The CDNX’s tech index rose 6%, leading the main index up by 95.56 to 4,347.05. Oil and gas performed well, adding almost 3%. Tech company Nuvo Network Management added 20% to C$3.50, while Oriole Systems almost doubled to $1.23.